■^.,^^' .' ^/- V" •»- ■" '' " / ''^'".^\^-«.V^'^^;^!o.. ^, v-Jv' ^^^ -^^^ .:0^^•^, ^>- . KJ C u^'^^\^y'\':-' 'OO^ ^•; ^> MEMOIRS GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON, SEVENTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES; CONTAINIXO A FULL ACCOUNT OF HIS INDIAN CAMPAIGNS, AND DEFENSE OP NEW-ORLEANS ; AND NUMEROUS ANECDOTES, ILLUSTRATIVE OP HIS CHARACTER : TOGETHER -nlTH HIS VETO OF THE BANK BILL ; PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIKRS ; FAREWELL ADDRESS, &C., &C. TO WHICH 13 ADDED THE EULOGY OF HON. GEO. BANCROFT, DELIVERED AT WASHINGTON, D. C. C03IPILED BY A CITIZEN OP WESTERN NEW- YORK. AUBURN, N. Y.: PUBLISHED BY JAMES C. DERBY & CO. GENEVA, N. Y.: GEORGE II. DERBY & CO. CINCIXNATI : H. W. DERBY & CO. t: Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year eighteen hundred and forty-five, by JAMES C. DERBY & CO., in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of New-York. JOHN C. MERRELL & Co.'S Napier Press, Auburn, N. Y. THE HERO SLEEPS! Go bring his battle-blade, His helmet and his plume ; And be his trophies laid Beside him in the tomb. Green be the willow bough Above the swelling mound, While sleeps the hero now In consecrated ground ; When files of time-worn veterans come, With martial trump and muffled drum. PREFACE In the preparation of the following work for the press, the compiler has consulted the best authorities ; and it is believed the Biographical portion is strictly correct. He has purposely- omitted any extended sketch of the political life of General Jackson, believing that the time has not yet come, when the American People are prepared to judge dispassionately, and without prejudice, of this portion of his life. It may be safely said, that no man has lived since the for- mation of the Federal Union, (except, perhaps, Washington,) who has stamped the impress of his character more stronglj' upon the institutions of our country, than Andrew Jackson; none who has had warmer personal aad political admirers ; and surely none who has had more determined and bitter oppo- nents. These feelings, though fast being modified, still, to .some extent, exist ; and though his mortal remains now lie entombed with the being he loved, and his spirit has gone to he judged by another than human tribunal, and the fame of his- deeds, and his example, are all that is left us — there still re- main many of his combatants upon the field: "We tread on ashes where the fire is not extinguished." We think, there- fore, the time has not fully arrived, when his countrymen are prepared to judge of his political actions with that calmness and impartiality that History demands. The compiler has, consequently, in the preparation of his w^ork, confined himself to that portion of his hfe which a great and thankful people have sealed with their approbation. The more minute Biography closes with the triumphant de- fense of New-Orleans; and this portion is illustrated with such anecdotes of his private and official character as v/ere within reach. Several of his more important State papers, which have now a place in the permanent political history of this Republic, as well as the eloquent Eulogy of Hon. George Bancroft, have been added. Believing that a work less expensive than " Kendall's Life of Jackson," (which is yet only in part published,) that should place within the reach of all who wish to read, the principal circumstances in General Jackson's eventful life, was desired by the public, the compiler submits this work for their accept- ince. He claims nothing for originality — it is simply a com- pilation. Should it contribute in any degree to a more thorough icnowledge of the early life and character, and to a better and easier acquaintance with the important State papers of the HIero of New-Orleans, and the Man of the Age, then will 3e satisfied the utmost wish of the COMPILER. Auburn, September 30, 1845. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. FROM 1767, TO 1S12. Jackson's Birth and Parentage, 17 Enters the American Revolutionary Army, 19 Cruelty of a British Officer, 20 Death of his Brother and Mother, 20 Studies the Law in North Carolina, 21 Settles in Tennessee as a Barrister, 22 Chosen a Member of the Tennessee Convention, 23 Elected a Member of Congress, 23 Chosen a Senator of Congress, 23 Is made Major-Gcneral of Tennessee, 24 Resigns his seat in the Senate, 24 Appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court, 24 *flesigns, and retires to his Farm, 25 CONTENTS. CHAPTER II. FROM THE BEGINNING OF 1812, TO THE MONTH OF MAY IN THAT YEAR. He is called from his Retirement, 26 Assembles 2,500 Volunteers, 27 Descends the Mississippi 300 miles, 27 Is ordered to disband his Troops, and give up his stores to the Regular Army stationed there, 28 Refuses to comply with the order, 29 Fulfills his compact with his Volunteers, by taking them back safely to their homes, 31 CHAPTER III. FROM MAY, 1813, TO APRIL, 1S14. His Indian Campaigns, 34 Battles 48 Discontent in his Army, 58 j Proof of his unparalleled fortitude and resolution, G4 Unexpected embarrassments, 73 Success, nA CHAPTER IV. FROM APRIL, 1314, TO DECEMBER, 1314. Perfidious conduct of the Spanish Governor of Pensacola,... 10 Jackson's Remonstrance, 77 NichoUs' Proclamation, 77 Defeat of the British at Fort Bowyer 79 Reduction of Pensacola, and Retreat of the British, 80 Jackson's Arrival at New-Orleans, SO Preparations made by the British for the Reduction of New- Orleans, SI CHAPTER V. FROM DECEMBER 1, 1314, TO MARCH, 1315. Defense of New-Orleans, S2 Jackson is beset by Traitors and Spies, S3 Arms not furnislied him S3 Enemy lands on the 23d December, 84 He marches in the night and drives them back, 85 Divers smaller Engagements 93 The Traitors in the Assembly, and in the Town, conspire against him, 112 Defeats the British with great slaughter, Sth January, 126 Drives them out of the country, 135 His Farewell Address to his Army, 135 The Account given by the British Government of this im- portant transaction, 138 ; CHAPTER VI. ANECDOTES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JACKSON. His Youthful Heroism, manifested in an attack upon the Wax- haw Settlement during the Revolution, and when but a boy of fourteen years of age,, 140 First taken Prisoner — his Treatment, 144 His Presence of Mind, 14S His Marriage, 151 Is set upon by Bullies, 153 Arrest of a Criminal, 154 Difficulty with Governor Sevier, 154 | Duel with Dickinson, 157 J His Adventure in the Indian Country 159 | Affray with Colonel Benton, 161 Adoption of an Indian Boy, 161 His Philanthropy, 162 -i Feeding on Acorns, 162 . Quelling a ^lutiny, 1C3 Camp Discipline, 167 Assault of Lieutenant Randolph, 168 Interview with Judge Douglass, 171 Personal Address of General Jackson, 172 CHAPTER VII. President Jackson's j\Iessage to the Senate of the United States, returning the Bill for Re-chartering the United States Bank, with his Objections, 174 Protest to the Senate, 195 Proclamation to the NuUifiers of South Carolina, 107 Farewell Address, on retiring from the Presidency, -220 Letter, declining a Sarcophagus, -^ll CHAPTER VIII. Remarks of Hon. Daniel Webster, at the Meeting of the New-York Historical Society, on the Death of Gen- eral Jackson, 213 Remarks of Hon. Reverdy Johnson, before the Court of Ap- peals, Maryland, 216 Eulotry of Hon. George Bancroft, 247 THE LIFE ANDREW JACKSON. CHAPTER I. FROM 17C7 TO 1812. His birth and parentage — Enters the American Revolutionary army — Cruelty of a British officer — Death of his brother and mother — Studies the law in North Carolina — Settles in Tennessee as a bar- rister — Chosen a member of the Tennessee Convention — Elected a member of Congress — Chosen a Senator of tiie Congress — Made Major-General of Tennessee — Resigns his seat in the Senate — Appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court — Resigns and retires to his farm. Andrew Jackson Avas born on the 15th day of March, 1767. His father, (Andrew,) the youngest son of his family, emigrated to America from Ireland during the year 1765, bring- ing with him two sons, Hugh and Robert, both very young. 1 Landing at Charleston, in South Carolina, he shortly after- I ward purchased a tract of land, in what was then called the [ Waxsaw settlement, about forty-five miles above Camden ; at •which place the subject of this history was born. Shortly I after his birth, his father died, leaving three sons to be provi- ded for by their mother. She appears to have been an exem- ' plary woman, and to have executed the arduous duties Avhich I had devolved on her with great faithfulness and with much - success. To the lessons she inculcated on the youthful minds 18 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. of her sons was, no doubt, owing, in a great measure, that fixed opposition to British tyranny and ojipression, which afterward so much distinguished them. Often would she spend the winter's evenings in recounting to them the suffer- ings of their grandfather at the seige of Carrickfergus, and the oppressions exercised by the nobility of Ireland over the laboring poor; impressing it upon them as a first duty, to ex- pend their lives, if it should become necessary, in defending and supporting the natural rights of man. Inheriting but a small patrimony from their father, it was impossible that all the sons could receive an expensive education. The two eldest were therefore only taught the rudiments of their mother tongue, at a common country school. But Andrew, being intended by his mother for the ministry, was sent to a flourishing academy at the Waxsaw meeting- house, superintended by Mr. Humphries. Here he was placed at the study of the dead languages, and continued until the revolutionary war, extending its ravages into that section of South Carolina where he then was, rendered it necessary that every one should betake himself to the American standard, seek protection with the enemy, or flee his country. It was not an alternative that admitted of a tedious deliberation. The natural ardor of his temper, deriving encouragement from the recommendations of his mother, whose feelings were not le.s3 alive on the occasion than his own, and excited by those sen- timents in favor of liberty with which, by her conversation, his mind had been early imbued, quickly determined him in the course to be pursued ; and at the tender age of fourteen, accompanied by his brother Robert, he hastened to the Ameri- can camp, and engaged actively in the service of his country. His oldest brother, who had previously joined the army, had lost his life at the battle of Stono, from the excessive heat of the weather and the fatigues of the day. Both Andrew and Robert were at this period pretty well acquainted with the manual exercise, and had some idea of the different evolutions of the field, having been indulged by their mother in attending the drill and general musters of the neighborhood. The Americans being unequal, as well from the inferiority ENTERS THE REVOLUTIONARY ARBIY. 19 of their numbers as their discipline, to engage tlie British army in battle, had retired before it into the interior of North Carolina; but when they learned that Lord Cornwallis had- crossed the Yadkin, they returned in small detachments to- their native state. On their arrival they found Lord Rawden in possession of Camden, and the whole country around in a state of desolation. The British commander being advised of the return of the settlers of Waxsaw, Major Coffin was imme- diately despatched thither with a corps of light dragoons, a company of infantry, and a considerable number of tories, for their capture and destruction. Hearing of their approach, the' settlers without delay appointed the Waxsaw meeting-house: as a place of rendezvous, that they might the better collect their scattered strength, and concert some .system of operations. About forty of them had accordingly assembled at this point, when the enemy approached, keeping the tories, who were dressed in the common garb of the country, in front, whereby this little band of patriots were completely deceived, having taken them for Captain Nisbet's company, in expectation of which they had been waiting. Eleven of them were taken prisoners; the rest with diiticulty fled, scattering and betaking themselves to the woods for concealment. Of those who thus escaped, though closely pursued, were Andrew Jackson and his brother, who, entering a secret bend in a creek that was close at hand, obtained a momentary respite from danger, and avoided, for the night, the pursuit of the enemy. The next day, however, having gone to a neighboring house for the purpose of procuring .something lo eat, they were broken in upon, and made prisoners, by Collin's dragoons and a party of tories who accompanied them. Those young men, with a view to security, had placed their horses in the wood, on the margin of a small creek, and posted a sentinel on the road which led by the house, that they might have information of any approach, and in time to elude it. But the tories, who were well acquainted with the country and the passes through the forest, had unfortunately passed the creek at the very point where the horses and baggage of our young soldiers were de- posited, and taken posses.sion of them. Having done this, they cautiously approached the house, and were almost at the 20 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. door before they were discovered. To escape was impossi- ble, and both were made prisoners. Being placed under guard, Andrew was ordered, in a very imperious tone, by a British officer, to clean his boots, which had become muddied in cros- sing the creek. This order he positively and peremptorily refused to obey ; alleging that he looked for such treatment as a prisoner of war had a right to expect. Incensed at his refu- sal, the officer aimed a blow at his head with a drawn sword, ^vhich would very probably have terminated his existence, had he not parried its effects by throwing up his left hand, on which he received a severe wound, the mark of which he bore to the day of his death. His brother, at the same time, for a silmilar ofTense, received a deep cut on the head, which sub- sequently occasioned his death. They were both now taken to jail, where, separated and confined, they were treated with marked severity, until a few days after the battle before Cam- den, when, in consequence of a partial exchange, effected by the intercessions and exertions of their mother, and Captain Walker of the militia, they were both released from confine- ment. Captain Walker, in a charge on the rear of the Brit- ish army, had succeeded in making thirteen prisoners, whom he gave in exchange for seven Americans, of which num- ber were these two young men. Robert, during his con- finement in prison, had suffered greatly, the wound on his head, all this time having never been dressed, was followed by an inflammation of the brain, which, in a few days after his liberation brought him to his grave. To add to the afflic- tion of Andrew, his mother, worn down by grief and her in- cessant exertions to provide clothing and other comforts for the suffering prisoners who had been taken from her neigh- borhood, expired in a few weeks after her son, near the lines of the enem}', in the vicinity of Charleston. Andrew, the last and only surviving child, confined to a bed of sickness, occa- sioned by the sufferings he had been compelled to undergo while a prisoner, and by getting wet on his return from cap- tivity, was thus left in the wide world without a human being with whom he could claim near relationship. The small-pox, about the same time having made its appearance upon him, had well-nigh terminated his sorrows and his existence. HIS EDUCATION- AND STUDY OF THE LAW. 21 Having at length recovered from his complicated afflic- tions, he entered upon the enjoyment of his estate, which, although small, vrould have been sufficient, under prudent management, to have completed his education on the liberal scale his mother had designed. Unfortunately, however, he, like too many young men, sacrificing future prosperity to pre- sent gratification, expended it with too profuse a hand. Com- ing at length to foresee that he should be finally obliged to rely on his own exertions for support and success in life, he again betook himself to hi.s studies with increased industry. He recommenced under JMr. M'Culloch, in that part of Carolina Avhich was then called the New Acquisition, near Hill's iron works. Here he studied the languages, devoting a portion of his time to a desultory course of studies. His education being now completed, so far as his wasted patrimony and the limited opportunities then afforded in that section of the country Avould permit, at the age of eighteen he turned his attention to acquiring a profession, and preparing himself to enter on the busy scenes of life. The pulpit, for which he had been designed by his mother, was now aban- doned for the bar; and, in the winter of 1784, he repaired to Salisbury, in North Carolina, and commenced the study of law, under Spruce M'Cay, Esq., afterwards one of the judges of that state, and subsequently continued it under Colonel John Stokes. Having remained at Salisbury until the winter of 1786, he obtained a license from the judges to practice law, and continued in the state until the spring of 1788. The observations he was enabled, during this time, to make, satisfied him that this state presented few inducements to a young attorney ; and recollecting that he stood solitary in life, without relations to aid him in the onset, when innu- merable difficulties arise and retard success, he determined to seek a new country. But for this he might have again re- turned to his native state. The death, however, of every rela- tion he liad, had wiped away all those endearing recollections and circumstances which warp the mind to the place of its nativity. The western parts of the state of Tennessee were, about this time, often spoken of as presenting flattering pros- pects to adventurers. He immediately determined to accom- 22 IIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. pany Judge M'Nairy thither, who had heen appointed, and was going out, to hold the first supreme court that had ever sat in the state. Having reached the Holston, they ascertained it would he impossible to arrive at the time appointed for the session of the court ; and therefore determined to remain in that section of the country until fall. They recommenced their journey in October, and passing through an extensive uninhabited country, reached Nashville in the same month. It had not been Jackson's intention certainly to make Ten- nessee the place of his future residence ; his visit was merely experimental, and his stay remained to be determined by the advantages that might be disclosed : but finding, soon after his arrival, that a considerable opening was offered for the success of a young attorney, he determined to remain. To one of refined feelings, the prospect before him was certainly not of an encouraging cast. As in all newly settled countries must be the case, society was loosely formed, and united by but few of those ties which have a tendency to enforce the performance of moral duty and the right execution of justice. The young men of the place, adventurers from different sec- tions of the country, had become indebted to the merchants ; there was but one lawyer in the country, and they had so contrived as to retain him in their business; the consequence was, that the merchants were entirely deprived of the means of enforcing against those gentlemen the execution of their contracts. In this state of things, Jackson made his appear- ance at Nashville, and, while the creditor class looked to it with great satisfaction, the debtors were sorely displeased. Applications were immediately made to him for his profes- sional services, and on the morning after his arrival, he issued seventy writs. To those prodigal gentlemen it was an alarm- ing circumstance ; their former security was impaired ; but that it might not wholly depart, they determined to force him, in some way or other, to leave the country; and to effect this, broils and quarrels with him were resorted to. This, how- ever, was soon abandoned ; satisfied, by the first contro- versy in which they had involved him, that his decision and firmness were such as to leave no hope of effecting any thing throxigh this channel. Disregarding the opposition raised to CHOSEN A SENATOR IN CONGRESS. 23 him, he continued, with care and industry, to press forward in his professional course; and his attention soon brought him forward, and introduced him to a profitable practice. Shortly afterward he was appointed attorney-general for the district, in which capacity lie continued to act for several years. Indian depredations being then frequent on the Cumber- land, every man, of necessity, became a soldier. Unassisted by the government, the settlers were forced to rely for secu- rity on their own bravery and exertions. Although young, no person was more distinguished than Andrew Jackson in defending the country against these predatory incursions of the savages, who continually harrassed the frontiers, and not unfrequently approached the heart of the settlements, which were thin, but not widely extended. He aided alike in garrisoning the forts, and in pursuing and chastising the enemy. In the year 17&6, having, by his patriotism, firmness, and talents, secured to himself a distinguished standing with all classes, he was chosen one of the members of the con- vention for establishing a constitution for the State. His good conduct and zeal for the public interest, and the repub- lican feelings and sentiments which were conspicuously dis- closed in the formation and arrangement of this instrument, brought him more prominently to view ; and, without propo- sing or soliciting, he was in the same year elected a Member of the House of Representatives in Congress, for the State of Tennessee. The following year, his reputation continu- ing to increase, and every bosom feeling a wish to raise him to still higher honors, he was chosen a Senator of the United States Congress, and took his seat on the 22d day of Novem- ber, 1797. About the middle of April, business of an im- portant and private nature, imposed on him the necessity of asking leave of absence, and returning home. Leave was granted, and before the next session he resigned his seat. He was but a little more than thirty years of age ; and hence scarcely eligible by the constitution at the time he was elected. The sedition law, about which so much concern xind feeling had been manifested through the country, was 24 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. introduced into the Senate by Mr. Lloyd, of Maryland, in June, 1798, and passed that body on the 4th of July follow- ing; hence the name of Jackson, owing to the leave of absence which had been granted him in April, does not ap- pear on the journals. On the alien law, however, and the effort to repeal the stamp act, he was present, resting in the minority, and on the side of the republican principles of the country. The State of Tennessee, on its admission into the Un- ion, comprising but one military division, and General Conway, who commanded it as major-general, dying about this time, Jackson, without being consulted on the subject, and without the least intimation of what was in agitation, was, as the constitution of the State directs, chosen by the iield-ofiicers to succeed him ; which appointment he continued to hold until INIay, 1814, when he was constituted a major- general in the United States' service. Becoming tired of political life, for the inti'igues of which he declared himself unqualified, and having for two years voted in the minority in Congress, he resigned, after the first session, his seat in the Senate. To this measure he was strongly induced, from a desire to make way for General Smith, who he conjectured would in that capacity be able to render more important services to the government than him- self. His country, unwilling that his talents should remain inactive and unemployed, again demanded his services. Im- mediately after his resignation, he was appointed one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the State. Sensibly alive to the difficult duties of this station, distrusting his legal ac- quirements, and impressed with the great injury he might produce to suitors by erroneous decisions, he advanced to the office with reluctance, and in a short time resigned, leaving it open for those who he believed were better qualified than himself to discharge its intricate and important duties. Un- ambitious of those distinctions and honors, which young men are usually proud to possess, and finding too that his circum- stances and condition in life were not such as to permit his time and attention to be devoted to public matters, he deter- mined to yield them into other hands, and to devote himself RETIRES TO PRIVATE LIFE. 25 to agricultural pursuits : and accordingly settled himself on an excellent farm ten miles from Nashville, on the Cumber- land river, where for several years he enjoyed all the comforts of domestic and social intercourse. Abstracted from the busy scenes of public hfe, pleased with retirement, surrounded by friends vi'hom he loved, and who entertained for him the highest veneration and respect, and blessed with an amiable and obedient wife, nothing seemed wanting to the completion of that happiness which he so anxiously desired while in office. CHAPTER II. FROM THE BEGINNING OF 1S12. TO THE MONTH OF MAY IN THAT YEAR. He is called from his retirement — Assembles 2500 volunteers — De- scends the Mississippi 300 miles — Is ordered to disband his troops and give up his stores to the regular army stationed there — Refu- ses to comply with the order — Fulfills his compact with his vol- unteers, by taking them back safely to their homes. The repose of Jackson, and the pleasures derived from his farm, were now destined to be abandoned for the duties of public life. After many years of negotiation and entreaty with Great Britain, — after forbearance such as no country in the world ever showed before, — the Congress, unanimously called upon by the people for that purpose, declared war against Great IBritain. The Government of the United States, during the same year in which they declared the war, made preparations for calling out volunteers for the defense of the country. Jack- son, then happy on his farm in the neighborhood of Nashville, which lies in about the middle of the fine State of Ten- nessee, which is bounded on the north by Kentucky, on the east by the Allegany mountains, on the south by the States of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and on the west by the great river Mississippi, — Jackson, happy on his farm, in the midst of this fine and flourishing State, and retired as he apparently thought for ever, from all public affairs, though only forty-five years of age, — was again roused by the insults that had been so repeatedly offered to his country, by the wrongs inflicted upon her citizens, and by the recollection, no doubt, of the death of his mother, of the death of his brother Robert, of the cause of those deaths; and, if he eould have forgotten the horrid account of the injuries in- flicted upon the country of his father and his mother, there was that scar on his hand, inflicted by a British oflicer, Miio had aimed a blow at his life because he had refused to clean the dirt oft" his boots ; there was that scar to keep his virtu- RAISES AN ARMY OF VOLUNTEERS. 27 ous resentment alive, even if he could have forgotten the wrongs of Ireland, and the ruin and extermination of every relation in the world. Nevertheless, he did not seek a command in the regular army which was about to be raised ; but the Congress having passed an act in February, and another in July, 1812, author- izing the President (then INIadison) to accept of the services of fifty thousand volunteers, he addressed the citizens of his division, and twenty-live hundred flocked to his standard. A tender of them having been made, and the offer accepted, in November, 1812, he received orders to place himself at their head and to descend the Mississippi, for the defense of the lower country, which was then supposed to be in danger. Accordingly, on the 10th of December, 1812, those troops rendezvoused at 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 troops could have displayed greater firmness. The general was everywhere with them, inspiring them with the ardor that animated his own bosom. The cheerful spirit with which they submitted to hard.ships and bore privations on the very onset of their military career, as well as the order and subor- dination they so readily observed, were happy presages of Avhat was to be expected when they should be directed to face an enemy. Natchez is a town on the banks of the Mi.'^^sissippi, full three hundred miles from Nashville, and about a hundred miles from New-Orleans, which is near the mouths of the Mississippi. Natchez was the placjp of rendezvous. He arrived there in the month of January ; and very soon after- ward, there took place a transaction which gave the Govern- ment of the United States a specimen of that inflexibility of character in him which has since been so fully developed, under circumstances of greater peril than any other man has ever encountered. Having procured supplies, and made the necessary ar- rangments for an active campaign, they proceeded the 7th of January, 1813, on their journey; and, descending the Ohio and Mississippi through cold and ice, arrived and halted 28 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. at Natchez. Here Jackson had been instructed to remain until he should receive further orders. Having chosen a healthy site for the encampment of his troops, he devoted his time, vi'ith the utmost industry, to training and preparing them for active service. The clouds of war, however, in that quarter having blown over, an order was received from the Secretary of War, dated the 5th of January, 1813, directing him, on the receipt thereof, to dismiss those under his com- mand from service, and to take measures for delivering over every article of public property in his possession to Brigadier- general Wilkinson. When this order reached his camp, there were one hundred and iifty on the sick report, fifty-six of whom were unable to rise from their beds, and almost the whole of them destitute of the means of defraying the expenses of their return. The consequence of a strict com- pliance with the Secretary's order inevitably would have been, that many of the sick must have perished, while most of the others, from their destitute condition, would of neces- sity have been compelled to enlist in the regular army, under General Wilkinson. Such alternatives were neither congenial with their general's wishes nor such as they had expected, on adventuring with him in the service of their country. He had carried them from home, and, the fate of war and disease apart, it was his duty, he believed, to bring them back. Whether an expectation that, by this plan, many of them would be forced into the regular ranks, had formed any part of the motive that occasioned the order for their discharge at so great a distance from home, cannot be known ; and it would be uncharitable to insinuate against the Government so serious an accusation, without the strongest evidence to support it. Be this as it may. General Jackson could not think of sacrificing or injuring an army that had shown such devotedness to their country ; and he determined to disregard the order, and inarch them again to their homes, where they had been embodied, rather than discharge them where they would be exposed to the greatest hardships and dangers. To this measure he was prompted, not only by the reasons already mentioned, but by the consideration that many of the troops under his command were young men, the children of RESISTS THE ORDERS OF GOVERNMENT. 29 his neighbors and acquaintances, who had delivered them into his hands as to a guardian, who, with parental solicitude, would watch over and protect their welfare. To have aban- doned them, therefore, at such a time, and under such circum- stances, would have drawn on him the merited censure of the most deserving part of his fellow-citizens, and deeply wounded his own generous feelings. Add to this, those young men who were confined by sickness, learning the nature of the order he had received, implored him, with tears in their eyes, not to abandon them in so great an extremity, reminding him at the same time of his assurances, that he would be to them as a father, and of the implicit confidence they had placed in his word. This was an appeal which it would have been difficult for the feelings of Jackson to have resisted, had it been without the support of other weighty considerations; but, influenced by them all, he had no hesi- tation in coming to a determination. Having made known his resolution to the field-officers of his division, it met, apparently, their approbation; but, after retiring from his presence, they assembled late at night in secret caucus, and proceeded to recommend to him an abandonment of his purpose, and an immediate discharge of his troops. Great as was the astonishment which this meas- ure excited in the General, it produced a still higher sentiment of indignation. In reply, he urged the duplicity of their conduct, and reminded them that, although to those who possessed funds and health such a course could produce no inconvenience, yet to the unfortunate soldier, who was alike destitute of both, no measure could be more calamitous. He concluded by telling them that his resolution, not having been ha.stily concluded on, nor founded on light considerations, was unalterably fixed ; and that immediate preparations must be made for carrying into execution the determination he had formed. He lost no time in making known to the Secretary of War the resolution he had adopted, to disregard the order he had given, and to return his army to the place where he had received it. He painted in strong terms the evils which the course pursued by the Government was calculated to produce, 30 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. and expressed the astonishment he felt that it should have originated with the once redoubted advocate of soldiers' rights. General Wilkinson, to whom the public property was directed to he delivered, learning the determination which had been taken by Jackson to march his troops back, and to take with them so much of that property as should be neces- sary to their return, in a letter of solemn and mysterious import, admonished him of the consequences which were before him, and of the awful and dangerous responsibility he was taking on himself by so bold a measure. General Jackson replied, that his conduct, and the consequences to which it might lead, had been deliberately weighed and well considered, and that he was prepared to abide the result, whatever it might be. Wilkinson had previously given orders to his officers to recruit from Jackson's army; they were advised, however, on their first appearance, that those troops were already in the service of the United States, and that, thus situated, they should not be enlisted ; and that he would arrest and confine the first officer, who dared to enter his encampment with any such object in view. The quarter-master, having been ordered to furnish the necessary transportation for the conveyance of the sick and the baggage to Tennessee, immediately set about the perform- ance of the task ; but, as the event proved, with not the least intention of executing it. Still, he continued to keep up the semblance of exertion ; and the better to deceive, the very day before that which had been appointed for breaking up the encampment and commencing the return march, eleven wagons arrived there by his order. The next morning, how- ever, when every thing was about to be packed up, acting doubtless from orders, and intending to produce embarrass- ment, the quarter-master entered the encampment, and dis- charged the whole. He was grossly mistaken in the man he had to deal with, and had now played his tricks too far to be able to accomplish the object which he had, no doubt, been intrusted to effect. Disregarding their dismissal, so evidently designed to prevent his marching back his men. General Jackson seized upon these wagons, yet within his lines, and compelled them to proceed in the transportation of his sick. RETT'RNS WITH HIS VOLUNTEERS. 31 It deserves to be recollected that this quarter-master, so soon as he received directions for furnishing transportation, had despatched an express to General Wilkinson ; and there can be but little doubt, that the course of duplicity he afterward pursued was a concerted plan between him and that general to defeat the design of Jackson, compel him to abandon the course he had adopted, and in this way draw to the regular army many of the soldiers, who, from necessity, would be driven to enlist. In this attempt they were fortunately disap- pointed. Adhering to his original purpose, he successfully resisted every stratagem of Wilkinson, and marched the whole of his division to the section of country whence they had been drawn, and dismissed them from service, as he had been instructed. To present an example that might buoy up the sinking spirits of his troops in the long and arduous march before them, he yielded up his horses to the sick, and, trudging on foot, he encountered all the hardships that were met by the soldiers. It was at a time of year when the roads were extremely bad, and the swamps lying in their passage deep and full ; yet, under these circumstances, he gave his troops an example of patience and endurance of hardship that lulled to silence all complaints, and won to him, still stronger than before, the esteem and respect of every one. On arriving at Nashville, he communicated to the President of the United States the course he had pursued, and the reasons that had induced it. If it had become necessary, he had sufhcient groiinds on which he could have justified his conduct. Had he suffered General Wilkinson to have accomplished that which was clearly his intention, although it was an event which might at the moment have benefitted the service, by adding an increased strength to the army, yet the example would have been of so serious and exceptionable a character, that injury would have been the final and unavoidable result. Whether the intention of thus forcing these men to enlist into the regular ranks had its existence under the direction of the Government or not, such would have been the universal belief ; and all would have felt a deep abhorrence at behold- ing the patriots of the country drawn oil' from their homes 32 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON under pretense of danger ; while the concealed design was, by increasing their necessities at a distance from their resi- dence, to compel them to an act which they would have abstained from under different circumstances. His conduct, terrible as it might at first appear, was, in the end, approved, and the expenses incurred were directed to be paid by the Government. CHAPTER III. FROM MAV, 1813, TO APRIL, 1314. His Indian campaign — Battles — Discontent in his army — Proof of his unparalleled fortitude and resolution — Unexpected embar- rassments — Success. Jackson, having taken his volunteers safely back to their own country, he discharged them, there being little or no expectation of their being wanted again. It ought to be observed, because -it will by-and-by be found to be of great importance, that these volunteers had been engaged to serve one year out of two, to be computed from the day of rendez- vous, unless sooner discharged ; that is to say, they engaged to be at the command of the Government for the space of two years from the time of the fir.st rendezvous, unless they should before the end of the two years have performed one year's service. I beg the reader to bear this in mind, for he will, by-and-by, find it leading to perils such as no man but Jackson ever encountered ; or, at any rate, such as no man but Jackson ever overcame. There was at this time (May, 1813) no appearance that British hostility would bear against any part of Louisiana, in which New-Orleans is situated. But the repose of Jackson tind his volunteers was not of long duration ; for the savages, instigated by an impostor who went among them, calling himself a propliet, who gave them assurances of the aid and protection of Great Britain, whose power and riches he represented as without bounds; the savages thus instigated, made incursions into the States of Tennessee, Kentucky, and other parts, committing murders and cruelties; slaughtering women and children with the most savage barbarity. It was absolutely necessary to punish them : and, therefore, first the Government of Tennessee, and afterwards, the General Government authorized war, when all eyes were turned upon Jackson to put an end to these horrid cruelties. He therefore called upon his volunteers who had followed him 3 34 I-IFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. to Natchez in the spring of the year, and appointed the 4th of October (1813) for them to meet him, armed and equipped for active service. When these multiplied outrages of the Indians in the West and South at length attracted the attention of the General Government, an application was made through their agent (Colonel Hawkins) to the principal chiefs of the nation, . who, desirous of preserving their friendly relations with the United States, resolved to punish the murderers with death, and immediately appointed a party of warriors to carry their determination into execution. No sooner was this done than the spirit of the greater part of the nation, which from policy had been kept in a considerable degree dormant, suddenly burst to a flame, and kindled into a civil war. It was not difficult for the friends of those who had teen put to death to prevail on others, who secretly applauded the acts for which they suffered, to enter \varmly into their resentments against those who had been concerned in bring- ing them to punishment. An occasion, as they believed, was now presented, which fully authorized them to throw aside all those injunctions of secrecy with regard to their hostile intentions, which had been imposed on them by Tecumseh and their prophets. This restraint, which hitherto they had regarded with much difficulty, they now resolved to lay aside, and to execute at once their insatiate and long-projected veng^eance not only on the white people, but on those of their own nation who, by this last act of retaliatory justice, had unequivocally shown a disposition to preserve their friendship with the former. The cloak of concealment being now thrown aside, the war-clubs were immediately seen in every section of the nation, but more particularly among the numerous hordes residing near the Alabama. Brandishing these in their hands, they rushed in the first instance on those of their own countrymen who had shown a disposition to preserve their relations with the United States, and obliged them to retire towards the white settlements, and place them- selves in forts, to escape the first ebullition of their rage. Encouraged by this success, and their numbers, which hourly increased, and infatuated to the highest degree by the predic- INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 35 lions of their prophets, who assured them that <«the Great Spirit" was on their side, and would enable them to triumph over all their enemies, they began to make immediate prepar- ations for extending their ravages to the white settlements. Fort Mimms, situated in the Tensaw settlement in the Missis- sippi territory, was the first point destined to satiate their cruelty and vengeance. It contained, at that time, about one hundred and fifty men, under the command of Major Beasley, besides a considerable number of women and children, who had betaken themselves to it for security. Having collected a supply of ammunition from the Spaniards at Pensacola, and assembled their warriors, to the number of six or seven hundred, tlie war party, commanded by Weatherford, a dis-- tinguished chief of the nation, on the 30th of August, 1813,- commenced their a.ssault on the fort, and having succeeded in carrying it, put to death nearly three hundred persons, inclu- ding women and children, with the most savage barbarity. The slaughter was indiscriminate ; mercy was extended to none ; and tlie tomahawk, at the same stroke, often cleft the mother and the child. But seventeen of the whole number in the fort escaped to bring intelligence of the dreadful catas- trophe. This monstrous and unprovoked outrage no sooner reached Tennessee than the whole State was thrown into a ferment, and nothing was thought or spoken of but retaliatory vengeance. Considerable excitement had already been pro- duced by brutalities of earlier date, and measures had been adopted by the Governor, in conformity with instructions from the Secretary of War, for commencing a campaign against them; but the massacre at Fort Mimms, which threatened to be followed by the entire destruction of the Mobile and Tombigbee settlements, inspired a deep and universal sentiment of solicitude, and an earnest wish for speedy and effectual operations. The anxiety felt on the occasion was greatly increased from an apprehension that General Jackson would not be able to command. He was the only man known in the State who was believed qualified to discharge 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 36 LIFE OP ANDREW JACKSON. room with a fractured arm ; but, although this apprehension was seriously indulged, arrangements were in progress, and measures industriously taken, to prepare and press the expe- dition with every possible despatch. A numerous collection of respectable citizens, who con- vened at Nashville on the 18th of September, 1813, for the purpose of devising the most effectual ways and means of affording protection to their brethren in distress, after confer- ring with the Governor and General Jackson, who was still confined to his room, strongly advised the propriety of march- ing a sufficient army into the heart of the Creek nation ; and •accordingly recommended this measure with great earnestness to the Legislature, which in a few days afterward commenced its session. That body, penetrated with the same sentiments which animated the whole country, immediately enacted a law, authorizing the Executive to call into the field thirty-five hundred of the militia, to be marched against the Indians ; and to guard against all difficulties, in the event the General 'Government should omit to adopt them into their service, three hundred thousand dollars were voted for their support. Additional reasons were at hand why active operations should be commenced with the least possible delay. The settlers were all fleeing to the interior, and every day brought intelligence that the Creeks, collected in considerable force, were bending their course towards the frontiers of Tennessee. The Governor now issued an order to General Jackson, who, notwithstanding the state of his health, had determined to assume the command, requiring him to call out, and rendez- vous at Fayetleville in the shortest possible time, two thou- sand of the militia and volunteers of his division, to repel any invasion that might be contemplated. Colonel Coffee, in addition to five hundred cavalry already raised and under his command, was authorized and instructed to organize and receive into his regiment any mounted riflemen that might make a tender of their services. Having received these orders, Jackson hastened to give them effect; and with this object, and with a view to greater expedition, appealed to those volunteers who, with him, had heretofore descended the Mississippi to Natchez. He urged IKDIAN CAMPAIGN. 37 them to appear at the place designated for the rendezvous on the 4th of October, 1813, equipped and armed for active service. He pointed out the imperious necessity which demanded their services, and urged them to be punctual ; for that their frontiers were threatened with invasion by a savage foe. "Already are large bodies of the hostile Creeks march- ing to your borders, with their scalping-knives unsheathed, to butcher your women and children : time is not to be lost. AVe must hasten to the frontier, or we shall find it drenched in the blood of our citizens. The health of your general is restored — he will command in person." In the mean time, until this force could be collected and organized, Colonel Coffee, with the force then under his command, and such additional mounted riflemen as could be attached at a short notice, was directed to hasten forward to the neighborhood of Huntsville, and occupy some eligible position for the defense of the frontier, until the infantry should arrive ; when it was contemplated, by the nearest possible route, to press on to Fort St. Stephen, with a view to the protection and defense of Mississippi, Every exertion was now made to hasten the prepara- tions for a vigorous campaign. Orders were given to the quarter-master to furnish the necessary munitions, with the proper transportation; and to the contractors, to provide ample supplies of provisions. The day of their rendezvous "being arrived, and the general not being sufficiently recovered to attend in per.son, he forwarded by his aid-de-camp. Major Reid, an address, to be read to the troops, accompanied by an order for the establishment of the police of the camp. In this address he pointed to the unprovoked injuries that had been so long inflicted by this horde of merciless and cruel savages, and entreated his soldiers to evince that zeal in the defense of their country which the importance of the moment so much required. " We are about to furnish these savages a lesson of admonition; we are about to teach them that our long forbearance has not proceeded from an insensibility to wrongs, or an inability to redress them. They stand in need of such warning. In proportion as we have borne with their insults and submitted to their outrages, they have multiplied 38 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. in number and increased in atrocity. But the measure of their offenses is at length filled. The blood of our women and children, recently spilt at Fort Mimms, calls for our ven- geance ; it must not call in vain. Our borders must no longer be disturbed by the war-whoop of these savages, and the cries of their suffering victims. The torch that has been lighted up must be made to blaze in the heart of their own country. It is time they should be made to feel the weight of a power which, because it was merciful, they believed to be impotent. But how shall a war so long forborne, and so loudly called for by retributive justice, be waged ? Shall we imitate the example of our enemies in the disorder of their movements and the savageness of their dispositions .' Is it worthy the character of American soldiers, who take up arras to redress the wrongs of an injured country, to assume no better models than that 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 reputation we shall carry along with us. We must and will be victorious ; but we must conquer as men. who owe nothing to chance, and who, in the midst of victory, can still be mindful of what is due to humanity ! " We will commence the campaign by an inviolable at- tention to discipline and subordination. Without a strict observance of these, victory must ever be uncertain, and ought hardly to be exulted in, even when gained. To what but the entire disregard of order and subordination are we to ascribe the disasters which have attended our arms in the North during the present war ? How glorious will it be to remove the blots which have tarnished the fair character bequeathed us by the fathers of our revolution ! The bosom of your general is full of hope. He knows the ardor which animates you, and already exults in the triumph which your strict observance of discipline and good order will render certain." For the police of his camp, he announced the following order: " The chain of sentinels will be marked, and the sentries posted precisely at ten o'clock to-day. INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 39 « No sutler -will be suffered to sell spirituous liquors to any soldier, without permission in writing from a commissioned officer, under the penalties prescribed by the rules and articles of war. " No citizen will be permitted to pass the chain of sentinels after retreat-beat in the evening, until reveille in the morning. Drunkenness, the bane of all orderly encampments, is posi- tively 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 positively commanded. " No officer or soldier is to sleep out of camp, but by per- mission obtained." These rules, to those who had scarcely yet passed the line that separates the citizen from the soldier, and who had not yet laid aside the notions of self-sovereignty, had the appearance of too much rigor; but the general well knew that the expedition in which they were embarked involved much hazard, and that, although such lively feelings were manifested now, yet when hardships pressed, these might cease. He considered it much safer, therefore, to lay before them at once the rules of conduct to which they must con- form ; believing that it would be more difficult to drive licen- tiousness from his camp than to prevent its entrance. Impatient to join his division, although his health was far from being restored, his arm only beginning to heal, the general in a few days afterward set out for the encampment, and reached it on the 7th of October, 1813. 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. Orders were di- rected to the several brigadiers in his division to hasten immediately their respective quotas, fully equipped for active operation. Circumstances did not permit him to remain at this 40 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. place long enough to have the delinquencies complained of remedied, and the ranks of his army filled. Colonel Coffee had proceeded with his mounted volunteers to cover Hunts- ville, and give security to the frontiers, where alarm greatly prevailed. On Ihe night of the 8th a letter was received from him, dated two days before, advising that two Indians, belonging to the peace party, had just arrived at the Tennes- see river from Chinnaby's fort, on the Coosa, with information that the war party had despatched eight hundred or a thou- sand of their warriors to attack the frontiers of Georgia; and, with the remainder of their forces, were marching against Huntsville, or Fort Hampton. In consequence of this intel- ligence, exertions were made to hasten a movement. Late on the following night another express arrived, confirming the former statement, and representing the enemy, in great force, to be rapidly approaching the Tennessee. Orders were now given for preparing the line of march, and by nine o'clock the next day the whole division was in motion. They had not proceeded many miles, when they were met with intelligence that Colonel Gibson, who had been sent out by Coffee to reconnoitre the movements of the enemy, had been killed by their advance. A strong desire had been man- ifested to be led forward ; that desire was now strengthened by the information just received ; and it was with difficulty their emotions could be restrained. They accelerated their march, and before eight o'clock at night arrived at Huntsville, a distance of thirty-two miles. Learning here that the infor- mation was erroneous which had occasioned so hasty a movement, the general encamped his troops ; having intended to march them that night to the Tennessee river, had it been confirmed. The next day the line of march was resumed. The influence of the late excitement was now visible in the lassitude which followed its removal. Proceeding slowly, they crossed the Tennessee at Ditto's landing, and united in the evening with Colonel Coffee's regiment, which had pre- viously occupied a commanding bluff on the south bank of the river. From this place, a few days afterward, Jackson detached Colonel Coffee with seven hundred men to scour the Black Warrior, a stream running from the north-east, and INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 41 emptying into the Tombigbee ; on which were supposed to be settled several populous villages of the enemy. He himself remained at this encampment a week, using the utmost pains in training his troops for service, and laboring incessantly to procure the necessary supplies for a campaign, which he had determined to carry directly into the heart of the enemy's country. Towards the latter object, his industry had been employed and his attention invariably directed, from the time the expedition was projected. With General Cocke, who commanded the division of East Tennessee militia, an arrangement had been made the preceding month, in which he had engaged to furnish large quantities of bread-stuff at Ditto's landing. The facility of procuring it in that quarter, and the convenient transportation afforded by the river, left no doubt on the mind of Jackson but that the engagement would be punctually complied with. To provide, however, against the bare possibility of a failure, and to be guarded against all contingencies that might happen, he had addressed his applications to various other sources. He had, on the same subject, written in the most pressing manner to the Governor of Georgia, with whose forces it was proposed to act in concert ; to Colonel Meigs, agent tft the Cherokee nation of Indians ; and to General White, who commanded the advance of the East Tennessee troops. Pre- viously to his arival at Huntsville, he had received assurances from the two latter that a considerable supply of flour for the use of his army had been procured, and was then at Hiwas- see, where boats were ready to transport it. From General Cocke himself, about the same time, a letter was received, stating that a hundred and fifty barrels of flour were then on the way to his encampment ; and expressing a belief that he should be able to procure, and forward on immediately, a thou-sand barrels more. With pressing importunity he had addressed himself to the contractors, and they had given him assurances, that on his crosssing the Tennessee they would be prepared with twenty day's rations for his whole com- mand ; but finding, on his arrival at Ditto's, that their prepar- ations were not in such forwardness as he had been led to expect, he was compelled for a time to suspend any active 42 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. and general operations. Calculating, however, with great confidence, on exertions which he had been promised should be unremitting, and on the speedy arrival of those supplies, descending the river, which had been already unaccountably delayed, he hoped in a few days to be placed in a situation to act efficiently. While he was encouraged by these expecta- tions, and only waiting their fulfillment that he might advance, Shelocta, the son of Chinnaby, a principal chief among the friendly Creeks, arrived at his camp, to sohcit his speedy movement for the relief of his father's fort, which was then threatened by a considerable body of the war party, who had advanced to the neighborhood of the Ten Islands, on the Coosa. Influenced by his representations, and anxious to ex- tend rehef, Jackson, on the 18th, gave orders for taking up the line of march on the following day, and notified the contractors of this arrangement, that they might be prepared to issue im- mediately such supplies as they had on hand; but to his great astonishment, he then, for the first time, was apprised of their entire inabihty to supply him while on his march. Having drawn what they had in their power to furnish, amounting to only a few day's rations, they were deposed from office, and others appointed, on whose industry and performance he be- ( lieved he might more safely rely. The scarcity of his provi- sions, however, at a moment like the present, when there was every appearance that the enemy might be met, and a blow stricken to advantage, was not sufficient to wave his determin- ation already taken. The route he would have to take to gain the fort, lay for a considerable distance up the river : might not the boats, long expected from Hiwassee, and which he felt strongly assured must be near at hand, be met with on the way ? He determined to proceed ; and having passed his army and baggage -wagons over several mountains of stupendous size, and such as were thought almost impassable by foot- passengers, he arrived on the 22d of October at Thompson's creek, which empties into the Tennessee, twenty-four miles above Ditto's. At this place he proposed the establishment of a permanent depot, for the reception of supplies, to be sent either up or down the river. Disappointed in the hopes with which he had ventured on his niarcla, he remained here several INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 43 (lays, in expectation of the boats that were coming to his relief. Thus harrassed at the first onset by difficulties wholly unex- pected, and which, from the numerous and strong assurances received, he could by no means have calculated on; fearing, too, that the same disregard of duty might induce a continu- ance, he lost no time in o])ening every avenue to expedient, that the chances of future failure might be diminished. To General FloiU'noy, who commanded at Mobile, he applied, urging him to procure bread-stufT, and have it forwarded up the Alabama by the time he should arrive on that river. The agent of the Choctaws, Colonel M'Kce, who was then on the Tombigbee, was addressed in the same style of entreaty. Ex- presses were despatched to General White, who, with the advance of the East Tennessee division, had arrived at the Look-out mountain, in the Cherokee nation, urging him by all means to hasten on the supplies. The assistance of the Gov- ernor of Tennessee was also earnestly besought. To facilitate exertion, and to assure success, every thing within his reach was attempted : several persons of wealth and patriotism in Madison county, were solicited to afford the contractors all the aid in their power; and to induce them more readily to extend it, their deep interest immediately at stake was pointed to, and their deplorable and dangerous situation, should necessity com- pel him to withdraw his army, and leave them exposed to the mercy of the savages. While these mea.sures were taking, two runners from Turkey- town, an Indian village, despatched by Path-killer, a chief of the Cherokees, arrived at the camp. They brought information that the enemy, from nine of the hostile towns, were assem- bling in great force near the Ten Islands; and solicited that immediate assistance should be afforded the friendly Creeks and Cherokees in their neighborhood, who were exposed to imminent danger. His want of provisions was not yet reme- died; but distributing the partial supply that was on hand, he resolved to proceed, in expectation that the relief he had so earnestly looked for would in a little while arrive, and be for- warded to him. To prepare his troops for an engagement, which he foresaw was soon to take place, he thus addressed them: 44 I-IFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. « You have, fellow-soldiers, at length penetrated the country of your enemies. It is not to be believed that they will aban- don the soil that imbosoms the bones of their forefathers, without furnishing you an opportunity of signalizing your valor. Wise men do not expect, brave men will not desire it.. It Avas not to travel unmolested through a barren wilderness,, that you quitted your families and homes, and submitted to so many privations; it was to avenge the cruelties committed upon our defenseless frontiers by the inhuman Creeks, instiga- ted by their no less inhuman allies. You shall not be disap- pointed. 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 boast- ing that punishment is to be inflicted, or victory 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 now to face. Their reliance will be on the damage they can do you while you are asleep, and unprepared for action : their hopes shall fail them in the hour of experiment. Soldiers who know their dut}', and are ambi- tious to perform it, are not to be taken by surprise. Our sentinels will never sleep, nor our soldiers be unprepared for action ; yet, while it is enjoined upon the sentinels vigilantly to watch the approach of the foe, they are at the same time commanded not to fire at shadows. Imaginary dangers must not deprive them of entire self-possession. Our soldiers will lie with their arras 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 the orders of their officers, and to obey them with promp- titude. " Grp- 1 reliance will be placed by the enemy on the consfer^ nation they may be able to spread through our ranks, by the hideous yells with which they commence their battles ; but brave men will laugh at such efforts to alarm them. It is not by bellowings and screams, that the wounds of death are in- fficted. You will teach these noisy assailants how weak are their weapons of warfare, by opposing them witli the ba,yoneU INDIAN CAMPAIGN. 45 What Indian ever withstood its charge ? what army, of any nation, ever withstood it long ? " Yes, soldiers, the order for a charge will be the signal for victory. In that moment, your enemy will be seen fleeing in every direction before you. But in the moment of action, coolness and deliberation must be regarded ; your fires made with precision and aim ; and when ordered to charge with the bayonet, you must proceed to the a5.sault with a quick and iirm step, without trepidation or alarm. Then shall you behold the completion of your hopes, in the discomfiture of you enemy. Your general, whose duty, as well as inclination, is to watch over your safety, will not, to gratify any wi.shes of his own, urge you unnecessarily into danger. He knows, however, that it is not in assailing an enemy, that men are destroyed ; it is Avhen retreating, and in confusion. Aware of this, he will be promi)tcd as much by a regard for your lives as your honor. He laments that he has been compelled, even incidentally, to hint at a retreat, when speaking to freemen and to soldiers. Never, until you forget all that is due to yourselves and your country, will you have any practical understanding of that -word. Shall an enemy wholly unacquainted with military evolutions, and who rely more for victory on their grim visa- ges and hideous yells, than upon their bravery or their weapons; shall such an enemy ever drive before them the well-trained youths of our countrj', whose bosoms pant for glory, and a desire to avenge the wrongs they have received ? Your general ■will not live to behold such a spectacle ; rather would he rush into the thickest of the enemy, and submit himself to their 6cbe carried into effect, yet it might be productive of evil, and jn the end bring about the most fatal consequences. Even jthe disclosure of such a wish on the part of the legislature ;might create parties, excite opposition in the army, and in- spire the enemy with renewed confidence. The Tennessee /orces, and Mississippi volunteers, it was not feared would ■be effected by the mea-sure ; but it might detach the Louis- liana militia, and even extend itself to the ranks of the reg- jular troops. Jackson was greatly incensed, that those whose 'safety he had so much at heart, should be seeking, under ;he authority of office, to mar his best exertions. He was, ^lowever, too warmly pressed at the moment, for the battle : ».vas raging, to ^ive it the attention its importance merited ; .out, availing himself of the first respite from the violence ■ jf the attack waged against him, he apprized Governor Clai- . •^orne of what he had heard ; — ordered him closely to watch "Jie conduct of the legislature, and the moment a project of jffering a capitulation to the enemy should be fully disclosed, -^ ;'l;\ce a guard at the door and confine them to their cham- The Governor, in his zeal to execute the command, and 1 a fear of the consequences involved in such conduct, construed as imperative an order which was merely contingent; and placing an armed force at the door of the capitol, prevent- 112 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. ed the members from convening, and their schemes from ma- turing. The purport of this order was essentially misconceived by the Governor ; or, perhaps, with a view to avoid subsequent inconveniences and complaints, was designedly mistaken. Jackson's object was not to restrain the legislature in the dis- charge of their official duties ; for although he thought that such a moment, when the sound of the cannon was constant- ly pealing in their ears, was inauspicious to wholesome legisla- tion, and that it would have better comported with the state of the times for them to abandon their civil duties and appear in the field, yet it was a matter indelicate to be proposed : and it was hence preferred, that they should adopt whatever course might be suggested by their own notions of propriet)^. This sentiment would have been still adhered to ; but when, through the communication of Mr. Duncan, they were represented as entertaining opinions and schemes adverse to the general in- terest and safety of the country, the necessity of a new and different course of conduct was at once obvious. But he did not order Governor Claiborne to interfere with or prevent them from proceeding with their duties ; on the contrary, he was instructed, as soon as any thing hostile to the general cause should be ascertained, to place a guard at the door, and keep the members to their post and to their duty. ]My object in this, remarked the General, was, that then they would be able to proceed with their business without producing the slightest injury : whatever schemes they might entertain would have remained with themselves, without the power of circulating them to the prejudice of any other interest than their own. I had intended to have had them well treated and kindly dealt by ; and thus abstracted from everything passing without doors, a better opportunity would have been affiDrded them to enact good and wholesome laws; but Governor Claiborne mistook iny order, and instead of shutting them in doors, contrary to my wishes and expectations turned them out. Before this he had been called on by a special committee of the legislature to know what his course would be, should ne- cessity compel him from his position. " If," replied the Gen- eral, " I thought the hair of my head could divine what I DEFENSE OF KEW-ORLEANS. 113 should do, forthwith I would cut it off: go back with this an- swer ; say to your honorable body, that if disaster does over- take me, and the fate of war drives me from my line to the city, they may expect to have a very warm session." " And what did you design to do," I inquired, "provided you had been forced to retreat ?" " I should," he replied, " have retreated to the city, fired it, and fought the enemy amid the surrounding flames. There were with me men of wealth, owners of considerable property, who, in such an event, would have been among the foremost to have applied the torch to their own buildings; and what they had left undone, I should have completed. Nothing for the comfortable maintenance of the enemy would have been left in the rear. I would have destroyed New-Orleans — occupied a position above on the riv- er — cut off all supplies, and in this way compelled them to depart from the country." We shall not pretend to ascribe this conduct of the legisla- ture to disaffection, or to treasonable motives. The impulse that produced it was, no doubt interest — a principle of the human mind which strongly sways, and often destroys its best conclusions. The disparity of the two armies, in num- bers, preparation, and discipline, had excited apprehension, and destroyed hope. If Jackson were driven back, and little else was looked for, rumor fixed his determination of devoting the city to destmction :• but even if such were not his inten- tion, the wrath and vengeance of the enemy might be fairly calculated to be in proportion to the opposition they should receive. Although these considerations may somewhat palli- ate, they do not justify. The government was represented in the person of the commanding General, on whom rested all responsibilit)', and whose voice on the subject of resistance or capitulation should alone have been heard. In the field were persons who were enduring hardships and straining eve- ry nerve for the general safet)'. A few of the members of ^their own body, too, were there who did not despond. Might not patriotism, then have admonished these men, honored as they were with the confidence of the people, rather to have pursued a course having for its object to keep alive excitement, than to have endeavored to introduce fear and paralyze exer- 8 114 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. tion ? Such conduct, if productive of nothing worse, was well calculated to excite alarm. If the militia, who had been hastily drawn to the camp, and who were yet trembling for the safety of their families, had been told that a few private men of standing in society had expressed their opinions, and declared resistance useless, it would without doubt have occa- sioned serious apprehensions ; but in a much greater degree Avould they be calculated to arise, when told that the members of the Legi.slature, chosen to preside over the safety and des- tinies of the State, after due deliberation, had pronounced all attempts at successful opposition vain and ineffectual. Here Avas an additional reason why expedients should be devised, and every precaution adopted, to prevent any com- munication by which the slightest intelligence should be had of our situation, already indeed sufficiently deplorable. Addi- tional guards were posted along the swamp, on both sides of the Mississippi, to arrest all intercourse ; while on the river, the common higlnvay, watch boats were constantly plying during the night, in different directions, so that a log could scarcely float down the stream unperceived. Two flat bot- tomed boats, on a dark night, were turned adrift above, to as- certain if vigilance were preserved, and whether there would be any possibility of escaping the guards, and passing in .safety to the British lines. The light boats discovered them on their passage, and on the alarm being given, they were opened upon by the Louisiana sloop, and the batteries on the .shore, and in a few minutes w^ere sunk. In spite, however, of every precaution, treason still discovered avenues through which to project and execiite her nefarious plans, and through them was constantly afforded information to the enemy ; car- ried to them, no doubt, by adventurous friends, who sought and effected their nightly passage through the deepest parts of the swamp, where it was impossible for sentinels to be sta- tioned.* * Letter from Charles K. Blanchard to General Jackson. New-Orle.\ns, March 20, 1S14. Sir : I have the honor, agreeably to your request, to state to your excellency, in writing, the substance of a conversation that DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 115- Great inconvenience was sustained for the want of arms, and much anxiety felt, lest the enemy, through their faithful adherents, might on this subject also obtain information. To prevent it as far as possible, General Jackson endeavored to conceal the strength and situation of his arm)-, by suffering his reports to be seen by none but himself and the adjutant- general. Many of the troops in the field were supplied with common guns, which were of little service. The Kentucky troops, daily expected, were also understood to be badly pro- vided with arms. Uncertain but that the city might yet con- tain many articles that would be serviceable, orders were issued to the Mayor of New-Orleans, directing him diligently to inquire through every store and house, and take possession of all the muskets, bayonets, spades, and axes, he could find. Understanding too that there were many young men who, from different pretexts, had not appeared in the field, he was instructed to obtain a register of every man in the city under the age of fifty, that measures might be concerted for drawing forth those who had hitherto appeared backward in engaging in the pending contest. Frequent light skirmishes by advanced parties, without ma- terial 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 30lh December, was ordered to dislodge a party of the enemy who, under cover of a ditch that ran across the plain, were annoying our fatigue parties. occurred between Quarter-master Peddie, of the British army, and myself, on the 11th inst., on board his Britannic Majesty's ship Herald. Quarter-master Peddie observed, that the commanding officers of the British forces were daily in the receipt of every in- formation from the city of New-Orleans which they might require, in aid of their operations, for the completion of the objects of the expedition: that they were perfectly acquainted with the situation of every part of our forces, the manner in which the same was sit- uated, the number of our fortifications, their strength, position, &c. As to the battery on the left bank of the Mississippi, he described its situation, its distance from the main post, and promptly offered me a plan of the works. He furthermore stated, that the above information was received from seven or eight pei'sons, in the city of New-Orleans, from whom he could, at any hour, procure every information necessary to promote his Majesty's interest. 116 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. In his advance, he was unexpectedly thrown into an ambus- cade, and became exposed to the fire of a line which had hith- erto lain concealed and unobserved. His collected conduct and gallant deportment gained him and his corps the approba- tion of the commanding general, and extricated him from the danger in which he was placed. The enemy, forced from their position, retired, and he returned to the line with the loss of five of his men. The British vrere encamped two miles below the Amejican army, on a perfect plain, and in full view. Although foiled in their attempt to carry our works by the force of their batter- ies on the 28th, tliey yet resolved upon another attack, and one which they believed would be more successful. Presum- ing their failure to have arisen from not having sufficiently strong batteries and heavy ordnance, a more enlarged arrange- ment was resorted to, with a confidence of silencing opposi- tion, and effecting such breaches in our intrenchraent as would enable their columns to pass, without being exposed to any considerable hazard. The interim between the 28th of De- cember and 1st January was accordingly spent in preparing to execute their designs. Their boats had been despatched to the shipping, and an additional supply of heavy cannon land- ed through Bayou Bienvenu, whence they had first debarked. During the night of the 31st December they were busily en- gaged. An impenetrable fog next morning, which was not dispelled until nine o'clock, by concealing their purpose, aided them in the plans they were projecting, and gave time for the completion of their works. This having disappeared, several heavy batteries, at the distance of six hundred yards, mount- ing eighteen and twenty-four pound carronades,were present- ed to view. No sooner was it sufficiently clear to distinguish objects at a distance, than these wei'e opened, and a tremen- dous burst of artillery commenced, accompanied with congreve rockets, that filled the air in all directions. Our troops, pro- tected by a defense, which from their constant labors and exertions they believed to be impregnable, unm.oved and un- disturbed, maintained their ground, and by their skillful man- agement, in the end succeeded in dismounting and silencing the guns of the enemy. The British, through the friendly in- DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 117 terfeicnce of some disaflectcd citizens, having been r^pprized of the situation of the general's quarters, that he dwelt in a house at a small distance in the rear of his line of defense, directed against it their iirst and principal efforts, with a view to destroy the commander. So great was the number of balls thrown, that in a little while its porticos were beaten down, and the building made a complete wreck. In this dishonora- ble design they were however disappointed ; for with Jackson it was a constant practice, on the iirst appearance of danger, not to wait in his quarters watching events, but instantly to proceed to the line, and be ready to form his arrangements as circumstances might require. Constantly in expectation of 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 aid in defense, and inspia'e his troops with firmness. Our guns along the line now opened to repel the assault, and a constant roar of cannon, on both sides, continued until near- ly noon; when, by the superior skill of our engineers, the two batteries formed on the right, next the woods, were near- ly beaten down, and many of the guns dismounted, broken, and rendered useless. That next the river still continued its lire until three o'clock ; when, perceiving all attempts to force a breach ineflectual, the enemy gave up the contest and re- tired. Every act of theirs discovers a strange delusion, and unfolds upon what wild and fanciful grounds all their expecta- tions were founded. That the American troops were well posted, and strongly defended by pieces of heavy ordnance, mounted along their line, was a fact well known ; yet a be- lief was confidently indulged that the undisciplined collection which constituted the strength of our army, would be able to derive little benefit from such a circumstance ; and that artil- lery could produce but slight advantages in the hands of per- sons who were strangers to the manner of using it. That ma- ny who, from necessity, were called to the direction of the guns, were at first entirely unacquainted with their manage- ment, is indeed true ; yet the accuracy and precision with which they threw their shot, afforded a convincing argument either that they possessed the capacity of becoming in a short time well acquainted with the art of gunnery, or that it was a 118 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. science the acquiring of which was not attended with insur- mountable difficulties. That they would be able to effect an opening, and march through the strong defense in their front, was an idea so fond- ly cherished by our assailants, that an apprehension of failure had scarcely ever occurred. So sanguine were they in this belief, that early in the morning their soldiers were arranged along the ditches, in rear of their batteries, prepared and ready to advance to the charge the moment a breach could be made. Here, by their situation, protected fromdanger, they remained, waiting the result that should call them to act. But their ef- forts not having produced the slightest impression, nor their rockets the effect of driving our militia away, they abandoned the contest, and retired to their camp, leaving their batteries materially injured — nay, well-nigh destroyed. Perceiving their attempts musl fail, and that such an effect could not be produced as would warrant their advance, an- other expedient was resorted to, but with no better success. It occurred to the British commander that an attack might be made to advantage next to the woods, and a force was accord- ingly ordered to penetrate in this direction, and turn the left of our line, which was supposed not to extend farther than to the margin of the swamp. In this way it was expected a di- version 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, disappointment resulted. 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 practicable, 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 general to extend his defense even here. This had been intrusted to General Coffee, and surely a more arduous duty can scarcely be imagined. To form a breast- DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 119 work in such a place was attended with many difficulties and considerable exposure. A .slight defense, however, had been thrown up, and the underwood, for thirty or forty yards in front, cut down, that the riflemen stationed for its protection might have a complete view of any force which through this route might attempt a passage. When it is recollected that this position was to be maintained night and day, uncertain of the moment of attack, and that the only opportunity af- forded our troops for rest was on logs and brush thrown to- gether, 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 ; hut accustomed to privation, and alive to tho.se feelings which a love of country in.spires, they obeyed without complaining, and cheerfully kept their position until all danger had subsided. Sensible of the importance of the point they defended, and that it was necessary to be maintained, be the sacrifice what it might, they looked to nothing but a zealous and faithful discharge of the trust conlided in them. Our loss in this affair was eleven killed and twenty-three wounded; that of the euemy was never correctly known. The only certain information is contained in a communication of the 28th January, from General Lambert to Earl Bathurst, in which the casualties and losses, from the 1st to the oth, are stated at seventy-eight. ]\Iany allowances, however, are to be made for this report. It was written at a time when, from the numerous disasters encountered, it was not to be pre- sumed the general's mind was in a situation patiently to re- member or minutely to detail the facts. From the great pre- cision of our fire, and the injury visibly sustained by their batteries, their loss was no doubt considerable. The enemy's heavy shot having penetrated our intrenchment in many places, it was discovered not to be as strong as had at first been imagined. Fatigue parties were again employed, and its strength daily increased : an additional number of bales of cot- ton were taken to be applied to strengthening and defending the embrasures along the line. A Frenchman, whose proper- ty had been thus, without his con.sent, .seized, fearful of the injury it might sustain, proceeded in person to General Jack- 120 -LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. son to reclaim it, and to demand its delivery. The general, having heard his complaint, and ascertained from him that he was unemployed in any military service, directed a mnsket to be brought to liim, and placing it in his hand, ordered him on the line, remarking, at the same time, that as he seemed to be a man possessed of property, he knew of none who had a better right to fight and to defend it. The British had again retired to their encampment. It was well understood by Jackson that they were in daily expecta- tion of considerable reinforcements ; though he rested with confidence in the belief that a few more days would also bring to his assistance the troops from Kentucky. Each party, therefore, v.'as busily and constantly engaged in prepa- ration, the one to wage a vigorous attack, the other bravely to defend, and resolutely to oppose it. The position of the American army was in the rear of an in- trenchment formed of earth, and which extended in a straight line from the river to a considerable distance in the swamp. In front was a deep ditch, which had been formerly used as a mill-race. The Mississippi had 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 command, were guns mounted, of different caliber, from six to thirty-two pounders. Near the river, and in advance of the intrenchment, was erected a redoubt, Avith embrasures, commanding the road along the levee, and calcu- lated to rake the ditch in front. We have heretofore stated, that General Morgan was order- ed, on the 24th of December, to cross to the west bank of the Mississippi. From an apprehension entertained that an at- tempt might be made through Barrataria, and the city reached from the right bank of the river, the General had extended his defense there likewise : in fact, unacquainted with the en- emy's views— not knowing the. number of their troops, nor but that they might have sufficient strength to wage an attack in various directions, and anxiously solicitous to be prepared at all points, he had carefully divided out his forces, that he might guard and be able to protect, in whatever direction an assault should be waged. His greatest fears, and hence his DEFEXSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 121 Strongest defense, next the one occupied by himself, -was on the Chef Mcnteiir road, where Governor Claiborne, at the head of the Louisiana militia, was posted. The position on the right M'as formed on the same plan with the line on the left — lower down than the one on the left, and extending to the swamp at right angles to the river. Here General INTorgan commanded. To be prepared against every possible contingency that might arise, Jackson had established another line of defense, 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 liis first position. With the aid of his cavalry, to give a momentary check to the advance of the enemy, he expected to be enabled, with inconsiderable injury, to reach it; where he would again have advantages on his side, be in a situation to dispute a further passage to the city, and arrest their pro- gress. To inspirit his own soldiers, and to exhibit to the en- emy as great a show as possible of strength and intended resistance, his unarmed troops, which constituted no inconsid- erable number, were here stationed. All intercourse between the lines, except by confidential officers, was prohibited, and every precaution and vigilance employed not only to keep this want of preparation concealed from the enemy, but even from being known on his own lines. Occasional firing at a distance, which produced nothing of couBequcncc; was all that marked the interim from the 1st to the 8th of January. On the 4th of this month, the long-expected reinforcement from Kentucky, amounting to twenty-two hundred and fifty, under the command of IMajor-general Thomas, arrived at head quarters ; but so ill provided with arms as to be incapable of rendering 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 ex- pectation of being supplied on their arrival. About five hun- dred of them had muskets ; the rest were provided with guns. 122 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 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 arrival of the Louisiana militia, in an equally unprepared situation, rendered it impossible for the evil to be effectually remedied. A boat laden with arms was somewhere on the river, intended for the use and defense of the lower country ; but where it was, or when it might arrive, rested alone on hope and conjecture. Expresses had been dispatched up the river, for three hundred miles, to seek and hasten it on ; still there were no tidings of an approach. That so many brave men, at a moment of such anxious peril, should be compelled to stand with folded arms, unable, from their sit- uation, to render the least possible service to their country, was an event greatly to be deplored, and did not fail to excite the feelings and sensibility of the commanding General. His mind active, and prepared for any thing but despondency, sought relief in vain ; there was none. No alternative was presented but to place them at his intrenchment in the rear, conceal their actual condition, and, by the show they might make, add to his appearance and numbers, without at all in- creasing his strength. Information was now received that Major-general Lambert had joined the British commander-in-chief with a considerable reinforcement. It had been heretofore announced in the Ame- rican camp that additional forces were expected, and something decisive might be looked for as soon as they should arrive. This circumstance, in connexion w^ith others no less favoring the idea, had led to the conclusion that a few days more would, 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 his army ; and, above all, to pre- serve as secret as possible its unarmed condition. To restrict all communication even with his own lines, was now, as dan- ger increased, rendered more important. None were permitted to leave the line, and none from w-ithout to pass into his camp, but such as were to be implicitly confided in. The line of sentinels was strengthened in front, that none might pass to the enemy, should desertion be attempted : yet, notwithstand- DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 123 ing Ills caution and care, his plans and situation were disclosed. On the night of the 6th of January, a soldier from the line, by- some means, succeeded in eluding the vigilance of our senti- nels. Early next morning his departure was discovered; it was at once correctly conjectured he had gone over to the ene- my, and would, no doubt, afford them all the information in his power to communicate. This opinion, as subsequent cir- cumstances disclosed, was well founded ; and dearly did he atone his crime. He unfolded to the British the situation of the American line, the late reinforcements we had received, and the unarmed condition of many of the troops; and point- ing to the centre of General Carroll's division, as a place occu- pied by militia alone, he recommended it as the point where an attack might be most safely and prudently made. Other intelligence received, was confirmatory of the belief of an impending attack. From some prisoners, taken on the lake, it was ascertained the enemy were busily engaged in deepen- ing Villery's canal, with a view of passing their boats and ordnance to the Mississippi. During the 7th, a constant bus- tle was perceived in the British camp. Along the borders of the canal, their soldiers were continually in motion, marching and maneuvering, for no other purpose than to conceal those who were busily engaged at work in the rear. To ascertain the cause of this uncommon stir, and learn their designs, as far as was practicable. Commodore Patterson had proceeded down the river, on the opposite side, and having gained a fa- vorable position in front of their encampment, discovered them to be actually engaged in deepening the passage to the river. It Avas no difficult matter to divine their purpose. No other conjecture could be entertained, than that an assault was in- tended to be made on the line of defense commanded by Gen- eral JMorgan ; which, if gained, would expose our troops on the left bank to the fire of the redoubt erected on the right; and in this way compel them to an abandonment of their po- sition. To counteract this scheme was important : and meas- ures were immediately taken to prevent the e.vecution of a plan, which, if successful, would be attended with incalculai- ble dangers. An increased strength was given to this line. The second regiment of Louisiana militia, and four hundred 124 LIFE OF AXDREW JACKSON. Kentucky troop?, were directed to be crossed over, to reinforce and protect it. Owing to some delay and difficulty in arming them, the latter amounting, instead of four hundred, to but one hundred and eighty, did not arrive until the morning of the 8th. A little before day they were despatched to aid an ad- vanced party, who, under the command of Major Arnaut, had been sent to watch the movements of the enemy, and oppose their landing. The hopes indulged from their opposition were not realized; and the enemy, unmolested, reached the shore. Morgan's position, besides being strengthened by several brass twelves, was defended by a strong battery, mounting twenty-four pounders, directed by Commodore Patterson, which afforded additional strength and security. The line itself was not strong ; yet, if properly maintained by the troops selected to defend it, was believed fully adequate to the purpose of successful resistance. Late at night Patterson ascertained that the enemy had succeeded in passing their boats through the canal, and immediately communicated his information to the General. The Commodore had already formed the idea of dropping the Louisiana schooner down, to attack and sink them. This thought, though well conceived, Avas abandoned, from the danger involved, and from an apprehension lest the batteries erected on the river, with which she would come in collision, might, by the aid of hot shot, succeed in blowing her up. It was preferred patiently to await their arrival, be- lieving it would be practicable, with the bravery of more than fifteen hundred men, and the slender advantages possessed from their line of defense, to maintain their position, and re- pel the assailants. On the left bank, where the general in person commanded, every thing was in readiness to meet the assault when it should be made. The redoubt on the levee was defended by a com- pany of the seventh regiment, under the command of Lieu- tenant Ross. The regular troops occupied that part of the intrenchment next the river. General Carroll's division wa-s in the centre, supported by the Kentucky troops, under Gen- eral John Adair ; while the extreme left, extending for a con- siderable distance into the swamp, was protected by the brigade of General Coffee. How soon the attack should be DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 125 waged was uncertain ; at what moment rested with the enemy — with us, to be in readiness for resistance. There were many circumstances, however, favoring the belief that the hour of contest was not far distant, and indeed fast approach- ing; the bustle of to-day, — the efforts to carry their boats into the river, — the fascines and scaling-ladders that were preparing — were circumstances pointing to attack, and indi- cating the hour to be near at hand. General Jackson, unmoved by appearances, anxiously desired a contest, which he believed would give a triumph to his arms, and terminate the hardships of his sufTering soldiers. Unremitting in exertion, and con- stantly vigilant, his precaution kept pace with the zeal and preparation of the enemy. He seldom 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 when the first alarm should be given. For eiglit days had the two armies lain upon the same field, and in view of each other, without any thing decisive being on either side eflected. Twice since their landing had the British columns essayed to effect by storm the execution of their plans, and twice had failed — been compelled to relin- quish the attempt, and retire 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 conquer- ors of Europe, were there ; distinguished generals their lead- ers, who earnestly desired to announce to their country and the world tlieir signal achievements. The high expectations •which had been indulged of the success of this expedition were to be realized at every peril, or disgrace 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 left, near the swamp, a skyrocket was perceived rising in the air; and presently an- other ascended from the right, next the river. They were in- tended to announce that all was prepared and ready, to pro- 126 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. ceed and carry by storm a defense which had twice foiled their utmost efforts. Instantly the charge was made, and with such rapidity, that our soldiers at the outposts with difficulty fled in. The British batteries, which had been demolished on the 1st of the month, had been re-established during the preceding night, and heavy pieces of cannon mounted, to aid in their in- tended operations. These now opened, and showers of bombs and balls were poured upon our line ; while the air was light- ed with their congreve rockets. The two divisions, command- ed by Sir Edward Packenham in person, and supported by Gen- erals Keane and Gibbs, pressed forward; the right against the centre of General Carroll's command, the left against our re- doubt on the levee. A thick fog that obscured the morning enabled them to approach within a short distance of our in- trenchment before they were discovered. They were now perceived advancing with firm, quick, and steady pace, in col- umn, with a front of sixty or seventy deep. Our troops, who had for some time been in readiness, and waiting -their appear- ance, gave three cheers, and instantly the whole line was lighted with the blaze of their fire. A burst of artillery and small arms, pouring with destructive aim upon them, mowed down their front, and arrested their advance. In our musket- ry there was not a moment's intermission : as one party dis- charged their pieces, another succeeded ; alternately loading and appearing, no pause could be perceived — it was one con- tinued volley. The columns already perceived their danger- ous and exposed situation. Battery No. 7, on the left, was ably served by Lieutenant Spotts, and galled them with an in- cessant and destructive fire. Batteries No. 6 and 8 were no less actively employed, and no less successful in felling them to the ground. Notwithstanding the severity of our fire, which few troops could for a moment have withstood, some of those brave men pressed on, and succeeded in gaining the ditch in front of our works, where they remained during the action, and were afterward made prisoners. The horror be- fore them was too great to be withstood : and already were the British troops seen wavering in their determination, and receding from the conflict. At this moment, Sir Edward Pack- DEFENSE OF XEW-ORLEAXS. 127 enham, hastening to the front, endeavored to encourage and inspire them with renewed zeal. His example was of short continuance; he soon fell mortally wounded in the arms of his aid-de-camp, not far from our line. Generals Gibbs and Keane also fell, and were borne from the field dangerously wounded. At this moment. General Lambert, who was ad- vancing at a small distance in the rear, with the reserve, met the columns precipitately retreating, and in great confusion. His efforts to stop them were unavailing, they continued re- treating, 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 advanced, was strewed with the dead and dying. Danger hovered still around ; yet urged and encouraged by their officers, who feared their own disgrace involved in the failure, they again moved to the charge. They were already near enough to de- ploy, and were endeavoring to do so ; but the same constant and unremitted resistance that caused their first retreat, con- tinued yet unabated. Our batteries had never ceased their fire; their constant discharges of grape and canister, and the fatal aim of our musketry, moAved down the front of the col- umns as fast as they could be formed. Satisfied nothing could be done, and that certain destruction awaited all further attempts, they forsook the contest and the field in disorder, leaving it almost entirel)' covered with the dead and wounded. It was in vain their officers endeavored to animate them to further resistance, and equally vain to attempt coercion. The panic produced from the dreadful repulse they had experi- enced, the plain on which they had acted being covered with innumerable bodies of their countrymen, while with their most zealous exertions they had been unable to obtain the slightest advantage, were circumstances well calculated to make even the most submissive soldier oppose the authority that would have controlled him. The light companies of fusilcers, the forty-third and ninety- third regiments, and one hundred men from the West India resiment, led on by Colonel Rennie, were ordered to proceed under cover of some chimneys standing in the field, until hav- 128 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. ing cleared them, to oblique to the river, and advance, pro- tected by the levee against our redoubt on the right. This work having been but lately commenced, was in an unfinished state. It was not until the 4th that General Jackson, much against his own opinion, had yielded to the suggestions of others, and permitted its projection ; and, considering the plan on which it had been sketched, had not yet received that strength necessary to its safe defense. The detachment or- dered against this place formed the left of General Keane's command. Rennie executed his orders with great bravery, and urging forward, arrived at the ditch. His advance was greatly annoyed by Commodore Patterson's battery on the left bank, and the cannon mounted on the redoubt; but reach- ing our works and passing the ditch, Rennie, sword in hand, leaped on the wall, and calling to his troops, bade them fol- low; he had scarcely spoken, when he fell by the fatal aim of our riflemen. Pressed by the impetuosity of the superior numbers who were mounting the wall and entering at the em- brasures, our troops had retired, to the line, in rear of the re- doubt. A momentary pause ensued, but only to be interrupt- ed with increased horrors. Captain Beal, with the city rifle- men, 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 suiTender was the only alternative : for they already perceived the division on the right thrown into confusion, and hastily leaving the field. General Jackson, being informed of the success of the enemy on the right, and of their being in possession of the redoubt, pressed forward a reinforcement to regain it. Pre- viously to its arrival, they had abandoned the attempt and were retiring. They were severely galled by such of our guns as could be brought to bear. The levee aflbrded them considerable protection; yet by Commodore Patterson's re- doubt on the right bank, they suffered greatly. Enfdaded by this on their advance, they had been greatly annoyed, and now in their retreat were no less severely assailed. Numbers found a grave in the ditch before our line; and of those who DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS. 129 gained the redoubt, not one it is believed escaped : they were shot down as fast as they entered. The route along which they had advanced and retired was strewed with bodies. Af- frighted at the carna2;e, they moved from the scene hastily and in confusion. Our batteries were still continuing the slaughter, and cutting them down at every step : safety seemed only to be attainable when they should have retired without the range of our shot ; which, to troops galled as severely as they were, was too remote a relief. Pressed by this consid- eration, they fled to the ditch, Avhither the right division had retreated, and there remained until night permitted them to retire. The lo.ss 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 next day after the battle, by Colonel Hayne, the inspector-general, places it at twenty-six hundred. General Lambert's report to Lord Bath- urst, makes it but two thousand and seventy. From prisoners, however, and information and circumstances 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 distinguished officers ; while the loss of the Americans, in killed and wounded, was but thirteen. Our eflectlve force at the line on the left bank, was three thousand seven hundred ; that of the enemy, at least nine thousand. The force landed in Louisiana has been variously reported; the best information places it at about fourteen thousand. A part of this acted with Colonel Thorn- ton ; the climate had rendered many unfit for the duties of the field; while a con.siderable number had been killed and wounded in the different contests since their arrival. Their kPtrenglh, therefore, may be fairly estimated, on the 8th, at the number we have stated ; at any rate, not less. That this was considered an undertaking of greater magni- tude and hazard than they were disposed openly to admit, is obvious, from one circumstance. The officer who leads his troops on a forlorn attempt, not xinfrequcntly places before them allurements stronger than either authority or duty. On 130 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. the present occasion, this resort was not omitted; and induce- ments were held ont, than which nothing more inviting could be offered to an infuriated soldiery. Let it be remembered of that gallant but misguided general, who has been so much deplored by the British nation, that to the cupidity of his soldiers he promised the wealth of the city, as a recompense for their gallantry and desperation ; while, with brutal licen- tiousness, they were to revel in lawless indulgence, and tri- umph uncontrolled over female innocence. Scenes like these, our nation, dishonored and insulted, had already witnessed: she had witnessed them at Hampton and Havre-de-Grace ; but it was reserved for her yet to learn, that an officer of the character and standing of Sir Edward Packenham, polished, generous and brave, should, to induce his soldiers to acts of daring valor, permit them, as a reward, to insult, injure and debase those whom all mankind, even savages, reverence and respect. The history of Europe, since civilized warfare began, is challenged to afford an instance of such gross depravity, such wanton outrage on the morals and dignity of society. English writers may deny the correctness of the charge: it certainly interests them to do so ; but its authenticity is too well established to admit of doubt, while its criminality is increased, from being the act of a people who hold themselves up to surrounding nations as examples of every thing that is correct and proper. The facts. and circumstances which were presented at the time of this transaction, left no doubt on the minds of our officers, but that " Beaut t/ and Booty" was the watch-word of the day. The information was obtained from prisoners, and confirmed by the books of two of their orderly- sergeants taken in battle, which contained recorded proof of the fact. The events of this day afford abundant evidence of the lib- erality of the American soldiers, and show a striking difference in the troops of the two nations. While those of one were allured to acts of bravery and duty by the promised pillage and plunder of the inhabitants, and the commission of crimes abhorrent in the sight of earth and heaven ; the other fought but for his country, and having repelled her assailants, instantly forgot all enmity, viewed his fallen foe as a brother, and hast- DEFENSE OF NEW-ORLEANS', 131 ened to assist him, even at the hazard of his OAvn life. The gallantry of the British soldiers, and no people could have displayed greater, had brought many of them even to our ramparts, where, shot down by our troops, they were lying badly wounded. ^Vhen the firing had ceased, and the columns had retired, our troops, with generous benevolence, advanced over their lines to assist and bring in the wounded who lay under and near the walls; vrhen, strange to tell, the enemy from the ditch they occupied opened a fire u])on them, and, though at a considerable distance, succeeded in wounding several. It was enough for our generous soldiers, that they were doing an act which the benevolence of their hearts ap- proved ; and with charitable perseverance they continued to administer to the wants of these sufTering men, and to carry them within their lines, although in their eflforts they were continually expo.sed to danger. Let the apologist for crime say wherefore were acts, thus unpardonable, committed against men who were administering 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 shortly after from Major-general Lam- bert, on whom, in consequence of the fall of Generals Pack- enham, Gibbs, and Keane, the command had devolved, acknow- ledges to have witnessed the kindness of our troops to his wounded. He solicited of General Jackson permission to send an unarmed party to bury the dead lying before his lines, and to bring off such as were dangerously wounded. Though in all probability it was unknown to General Lambert what had been the conduct of his troops on this occasion, and un- questionably not authorized by him, yet Jackson, in answer to his despatch, did not omit to bring it to his view, and to express his utter abhorrence of the act. The request to bury the dead was granted. General Jackson, however, 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 intrenchment should be relieved, and the dead buried : those nearer, were by his own men to be delivered over, to be interred by their countrymen. This precaution 132 I.IFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. was taken, that the enemy might not have an opportunity to inspect, or know any thing of liis situation. General Lambert, desirous of administering to the relief of the wounded, and that he might be relieved from his appre- hensions of attack, proposed, about noon, that hostilities should cease until the same hour the next day. General Jack- son, cherishing the hope of being able to secure an important ad- vantage by 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 hostilities on the left bank of the river should be discontinued from its ratifica- tion, but on the right 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 succeded even to the extent desired, was yet attended with considerable hazard. Reinforcements had been ordered over to retake the position lost by Morgan in the morning, and the General presumed they had arrived at their point of destination; but at this time they had not passed the river, nor could it be expected to be retaken with the same troops v/ho had yielded it the day before, when possessed of advantages which gave them a decided superiority; this the commanding General well knew ; yet, to spare the sacrifice of his men, wliicli, in reguininir, it he foresaw must be conside- rable, he AViis disjKised lo venture upon a course which, he felt assure!, could not fail lo succeed. It was impossible his 6\)']ed could be discovered : while he confidently believed the British commander would infer, from the prompt and ready manner in which his proposal had been met, that such addi- tional troops were already thrown over as would be fully ade- quate to the purposes of attack, and greatly to endanger, if not wholly to cut ofi'. Colonel Thornton's retreat. General Lambert's construction was such as had been anticipated. Although the armistice contained a request 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 interim, under cover of the night, recrossed, and DEFEXSK OF NEW-ORLEANS 133 the ground they occupied left to be peaceably posgesscd by the original holders. The opportunity thus afforded of regain- ing a position on which, in a great degree, depended the safe- ty of those on the opposite shore, was accepted with an avid- ity its importance merited, and immediate measures taken to increase its strength, and prepare it against any future attack that might be made. This delay of the British commander was evidently designed, that, pending the negotiation, and be- fore it was concluded, an opportunity might be had either of throwing over reinforcements, or removing Colonel Thornton and his troops from a situation so extremely perilous. Early next morning. General Lambert returned his acceptance of what had been proposed, with an apology for having failed to reply sooner: he excused the ommission by pleading a press of business, which had occasioned the communication to be overlooked and neglected. Jackson was at no loss to attrib- ute the delay to the correct motive ; the apology, hovv ever, was as perfectly satisfactory to him as any thing that could have been offered ; beyond the object intended to be eirected he felt unconcerned, and having secured this, he rested perfectly sat- isfied. It cannot, however, appear otherwise than extraordi- nary, that this neglect should have been ascribed by the Brit- ish general to accident, or a press of business, when it must have been, no doubt, of greater importance at that moment than any thing which he could possibly have had before him. The armistice was this morning (9th of January) conclu- ded, and agreed to continue until two o'clock in the evening. The dead and wounded were now removed from the field, which for three hundred yards in front of our line of defense, they almost literally covered. For the reason already suggest- ed, our soldiers, within the line of demarcation between the two camps, delivered over to the British, who were not permit- ted 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. It has seldom happened that officers were more deceived in their expectations, than they were in the result of this battle, or atoned more severely for their error: their reasoning had never led them to conclude that militia would maintain their 134 I-IFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. ground when warmly assailed ; no other belief was entertain- ed than, alarmed at the appearance and orderly firm approach of veteran troops, they would at once forsake the contest, and seek safety in flight. At what part of our line they were sta- tioned, was ascertained by information derived through a de- serter on the 6th ; and, influenced by a belief of their want of nerve and deficiency in bravery, at this point the main assault was urged. They were indeed militia ; but the enemy could have assailed no part of our intrenchment where they would have met a warmer reception, or where they would have found greater strength ; it was, indeed, the best defended part of the line. The Kentucky and Tennessee troops, under Generals Carroll, Thomas, and Adair, were here, who had already, on former occasions, won a reputation that was too dear to be sa- crificed. These divisions, alternately charging their pieces and mounting the platform, poured forth a constant fire, that was impossible to be withstood, repelled the advancing col- umns, and drove them from the field with prodigious slaughter. There is one fact told, to which general credit seems to be attached, and which clearly shows the opinion had by the British of our militia, and the little fear which was entertain- ed of any determined opposition from them. When repulsed from our line, the British officers were fully persuaded, that the information given them by the deserter on the night of the 6th was false, and that instead of pointing out the ground defended by the militia, he had referred them to the place oc- cupied by our best troops. Enraged at what they believed an intentional deception, they called their informant before them to account for the mischief he had done. It was in vain he urged his innocence, and, with the most selemn protestations, declared he had stated the fact tmly 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 ceremon}', the poor fellow, suspended in view of the camp, expiated on a tree, not his crime, for what he had stated was true, but their error in underrating an enemy, who had already afforded abundant evidences of valor. In all their future trials with our countrymen, may they be no less deceived, and discover in our yeomanry a determination to sustain FAREWELL ADDRESS TO HIS TROOPS. 135 Avitli liimness a government which knows nothing of oppres- sion ; but which, on an enlarged and hberal scale, aims to se- cure 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 privileges 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 awa}' and perish for ever, no more to be remembered. 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 re- peated, urgent requests, and agreeably to the i^romises that were made him. Not having arms, he was compelled to let the remainder of the " heroes of the Peninsula" escape. They got to the other side of the river, and there they embarked, leaving behind them the contempt of the faithful Americans, and the sympathetic sorrows of the traitors. Now, however, these traitors sang his praises in lofty strains ; put up thanks- giving in their churches, called him " an instrument in the hands of God;" though a few days before they would have sold him and his army, flesh and blood. He submitted to the mummery of being fined for having imprisoned the judge, which he did in order to give an example of submission to the laws. He found it necessary to remain at New-Orleans till jNIarch, when he dismissed his troops in the following ad- dress, which should be read, preserved, and cherished in all counliies: ADDRESS TO THE TROOPS OF NEW-ORLEANS AFTER THE ANNUN- CI.\TION OF PEACE. The jSIajor-general is at length enabled to perform the pleas- ing task of restoring to Tennes.see, Kentucky, Louisiana, and the territory of the INIississippi, the brave troops who have acted such a distinguished part in the war which has just ter- minated. In restoring these brave men to their homes, much exertion is expected of, and great responsibility imposed on, the commanding olBcers of the difTercnt corps. It is required 136 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. of Major-generals Carroll and Thomas, and Brigadier-general Coffee, to march their commands, without unnecessary delay, to their respective states. The troops from the Mississippi territory and state of Louisiana, both militia and volunteers, will be immediately mustered out of service, paid, and dis- charged. The Major-general has the satisfaction of announcing the approbation of the President of the United States to the con- duct of the troops under his command, e.xpressed in flattering terms, through the honorable the Secretary of War. In parting with those brave men, whose destinies have been so long united with his own, and in whose labors and glories it is his happiness and his boast to have participated, the com- manding general can neither suppress his feelings, nor give utterance to them as he ought. In what terms can he bestow suitable praise on merit so extraordinary, so unparalleled .' Let him, in one burst of joy, gratitude, and exultation, ex- claim — " These are the saviors of their country — these the patriot soldiers, who triumphed over the invincibles of Wel- lington, and conquered the conquerors of Europe!" With what patience did you submit to privations — with what for- titude did you endure fatigue — what valor did you display in the day of battle ! You have secured to America a proud name among the nations of the earth — a glory which will never perish. Possessing those dispositions which equally adorn the citi- zen 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 honor, and crowned with laurels which will never fade. When participating in the bosoms of your families the enjoy- ment of peaceful life, with what happiness will you not look back to the toils you have borne — to the dangers you have en- countered ? How will all your past exposures be converted into sources of inexpressible delight ! Who, that never ex- perienced your sufferings, will be able to appreciate your joys .' The man who slumbered ingloriously at home, during your painful marches, your nights of watchfulness, and your days FAREWELL ADDRESS TO HIS TROOPS, 137 of toil, will envy j'ou the happiness which these recollections will afford — still more will he envy the gratitude of that coun- try, which you have so eminently 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 indulgence to his feelings towards those brave companions who accompanied him through difliculties and danger, he cannot permit the names of Blount, and Shelby, and Holmes, to pass unnoticed. With what generous ardor and patriotism have these distinguished governors contributed all their exertions to provide the means of victory ! The recollection of their exertions, and of the success \vhich has resulted, will be to them a reward more grateful than any which the pomp of title or the splendor of wealth can bestow. What happiness it is to the commanding general, that, while ilangcr was before him, he was, on no occasion, compelled to use towards his companions in arms either severity or rebuke! If, after the enemy had retired, improper passions began their empire in a few unworthy bosoms, and rendered a resort to energetic measures necessary for their suppression, he has not confounded the innocent with the guilty — the seduced with the seducers. Towards you, fellow-soldiers, the most cheer- ing recollections exist; blended, alas ! with regret, that disease and war should have ravished from us so many worthy com- panions. But the memory of the cause in which they perished, and of the virtues which animated them while living, must oc- cupy 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 country of freemen is vours — yours the applause of an admiring world. ANDREW JACKSON, Major- General commanding. The following bulletin published in the London Gazette, of the 8th March, 1815, may not be uninteresting ; showing, as t does, the way in which the Government of England, over their loss and disgrace at New-Orleans : 138 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. BULLETIN. <'War Departement, March 8, 1815. " Captain Wylly arrived this morning with despatches from Major-general Lambert, detailing the operations against the enemy in the neighborhood of New-Orleans. It appears that the army, under the command of Major-general Keane, was landed at the head of the Bayonne, in the vicinity of New- Orleans, on the morning of the 23d December, without oppo- sition ; it was, however, attacked by the enemy in the course of the night succeeding the landing, when, after an obstinate contest, the enemy were repulsed at all points with considera- ble loss. On the morning of the 25th, Sir E. Packenham ar-. rived, and assumed the command of the army. On the 27th, at daylight, the troops moved forward, driving the enemy's pickets to within six miles of the town, when the main body of the enemy was discovered, posted behind a breastwork, ex- tending about one thousand yards, with the right resting on the Mississippi, and the left on a thick wood. The interval between the 27th December and the 8th January was em- ployed in preparations for an attack upon the enemy's posi- tion. The attack which was intended to have been made on the night of the 7th, did not, owing to the difficulties experi- enced in the passage of the Mississippi, by a corps under Lieutenant-colonel Thornton, which was destined to act on the right bank of the river, take place till early on the morn- ing of the 8th. The division to whom the storming of the enemy's work was intrusted, moved to the attack at that time, but being too soon discovered by the enemy, were received with a galling and severe fire from all parts of their line. Ma- jor-general Sir Edward Packenham, who had placed himself at the head of the troops, was unfortunately killed at the head of the glacis, and Major-generals Gibbs and Keane were nearly at the same moment Avounded. The effect of this upon the troops caused a hesitation in their advance, and though order was restored by the advance of the reserve under Major-gen- eral Lambert, to whom the command of the army had devolved, and Colonel Thornton had succeeded in the operation assigned BRJTISn ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE. 139 to him on the right bank of the river; yet the Major-general, upon the consideration of the difTicuUies u'hich yet remained to be surmounted, did not think himself justified in ordering a renewal of the attack. The troops, therefore, retired to the position which they had occupied previous to the attack. In that position they remained until the evening of the 18th, when, the whole of the wounded, with the exception of eighty (whom it was considered dangerous to remove,) the field artillery, and all the stores of every description, having been embarked, the army retired to the head of the Bayonne, where tlie landing had been originally eflected, and re-emarked without molestation." [Such was the official announcem.ent of this important battle. Buonaparte soon after returned from Elba ; the battle of Water- loo followed, and New-Orleans was in a measure forgotten by the British People — but not by the Government.] After this battle, the command being committed to General Gaines, Jackson returned to his farm, where he remained un- til the end of 1817, when he was directed to proceed against the Seminole Indians, who, emerging from the Spanish terri- tory, had committed repeated massacres of the Americans on the frontiers. At the head of the Tennessee volunteers, who were afterward joined by the Georgia militia, he penetrated into Florida, destroyed the retreats of the skulking savages and fugitive slaves who had banded with them, and burned their villages. Two Engli.shmen, Arbnthnot and Ambrister, were arrested by his order, charged with exciting and leading on the insurgents. They were tried by a court of thirteen officers, found guilty, and in pursuance of their sentence, the former was hung and the other shot. After placing a garrison in St. Marks, the General was about returning to Tennessee, wlien he learned that the dispersed bands were combining west of the Appalachicola, under the countenance and protec- tion of the governor of Pensacola. During the month of ]\Iay, he, with a force of twelve hundred, ranged the suspect- ed district, and marched into Pensacola, of which he took possession ; the governor flying to fort Barrancas, which was also yielded on the 28th. Two detachments were then sent to clear the country of the fugitives, which being accomplished, 140 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. Jackson returned home in June, 181S. The House of Repre- sentatives, in the next session of Congress, justilieu his course in taking temporary possession of the Spanish fortresses, and in executing the two British ringleaders. Soon after these events he visited the northern cities, where he was enthusias- tically received with public and private honors. When the Floridas were ceded by Spain to the United States, the President appointed General Jackson a commissioner to receive the cession, and act as Governor of the territory. This important annexation was officially announced by him at Pen- sacola in July, 1821, when he commenced his administration. Having organized his neAV government, he resigned his office, and returned to his farm in Tennessee. In the month of August, 1822, the legislature of Tennes- see nominated General Jackson as the successor of JNIr. Mon- - roe in the presidency of the United States ; the proposition was favorably received in many parts of the Union. He de- clined an appointment as Minister to Llexico, and in 1823 was elected to the Senate of the United States; but having now become a prominent candidate for the Chief Magistracy, he resigned his seat in the second session. The result of the popular elections of 1824, for President, gave General Jack- son a plurality, but not a majority of votes : Jackson had ninety-nine, Adams eighty-four, Crawford forty-one, and Clay thirty-seven. The House of Representatives was re- quired, by the constitutional provision, to make a selection from the three who received the greatest number of votes, and the suffrages of the States gave the majority to Mr. Adams. General Jackson was at once nominated to succeed Mr. Adams at the close of his term ; and the elections of the colleges were reported to Congress on February 11, 1829, as giving to General Jackson, one hundred and seventy-eight votes, and to Mr. Adams, his only competitor, eighty-three. At the end of his first term of office, he was re-elected to a second, by an increased majority of the electoral votes : there being four candidates in the field, Jackson received two hundred and nineteen votes. Clay forty-nine, Floyd eleven, Wirt seven. On the expiration of his second term. General Jackson retired to his farm, near Nashville, and there resided till his HIS DECEASE. 141 death, which occurred at 6 o'clock in the evening of Sunday, June 8, 1845, in the 7Sth year of his age. Much of the time during his retirement he suffered greatly from a disease in the left lobe of his lungs, which he bore with characteristic firm- ness and resignation. The public had been led to expect his death for many weeks ; the venerable patriot himself, in the last letter he ever wrote, had said — " I am dying daily. I feel that I can no longer be of service to my country, to my friends, or myself ; and I am ready and willing to api)ear in the pres- ence of my ISIaker." On the morning of Sunday the 8th, the General had swooned, and for a time was supposed to be dead; hut he soon after revived, and lived till evening. A short time before his death, he look an affectionate leave of his friends and domestics, retaining to the last his senses and in- tellect unclouded. He expired wnth the utmost calmness, expressing the highest confidence in a happy immortality, through the Redeemer. The simple announcement of this melancholy, though long expected event, excited the deepest emotions in the hearts of the American people. The memory of Jackson belongs to his country. His name will go down to posterity as the Hero of Nkw-Ohleans, whose military ability covered with glory our citizen soldiers ; and his Presidential career will atford to the future hi.storian and the political economist, many important incidents and les- sons of wisdom. Weep, Columbia, weep ! Breathe once again the note Of sorrow, stern and deep. Wide o'er the land to iloat, — He rests — the Hero-Sage His earthly toils are o'er. And History's golden page Shall wait for him no more. ' Tis closed — his book of life Is full — his race is run ; With fame and honor rife — His work forever done. 142 "IS DECEASE. But while in sadness here, We heave an earth-born sigh — He lives, where not a tear Shall flow — no more to die. He lives mid spirits free, Who toil'd with him in life — That God and Liberty Crowned in that holy strife, — For them a nation wept At Freedom's sacred shrine ; In glory they too slept, Where he, with them, will shine. Yet shall the Patriot's name Be cherished by the free — In every soil his fame Shall dwell with Liberty ; But vainly o'er his grave A sorrowing nation weeps, Her banners drooping wave — For aye, the Hero sleeps. Her booming guns may roar. The clang of armor come. Her eagle proudly soar Up toward his spirit-home, — His country long may weep His glorious setting sun, It will not break his sleep — His deeds of might are done. CHAPTER VI ANECDOTES ILLISTKATIVE OF THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF JACKSON. His youthful heroism, manifested in an attack upon the Waxhavv settlement during the Revolution, and wlien but a boy of four- teen years of age. Then, boys big enough to carry muskets incurred the dangers of men. Robert and Andrew Jackson had their horses and their guns, and, like their kindred and neighbors, were almost con- stantly with some armed party. Men could not, unguarded, sleep in their own houses without danger of surprise and mur- der. It was on such an occasion that Andrew Jackson gave the first illustration of that quickness of thought and prompti- tude of action which have sinced placed him among the first military commanders. A Whig captain, named Lands, desired to spend a night with his family. Robert and Andrew Jack- son, with one of the Crawford's, and five others, constituted his guard. There were nine men and seven muskets. Hav- ing no special apprehensions of an attack, they laid down on their arms, and, with the exception of a British deserter, who was one of the party, went to sleep. Lands' house was in the centre of an enclosed yard, and had two doors, facing east and west. Before the east door stood a forked apple-tree. In the southwest corner of the yard were a corncrib and stable under one roof, ranging east and west. On the south was a wood, and through it passed the road by which the house was approached. A party of Tories became apprised of Lands' return, and determined to surprise and kill him. Approaching through the wood, and tying their horses behind the stable, they divi- ded into two parties, one advancing round tlie east end of the 144 HIS PRESENCE OF MIND. stable towards the east door of the house, and the other round the west end towards the west door. At this moment, the ■wakeful soldier, hearing a noi,se in the direction of the stable, ■went out to see what was the matter, and perceived the party which were entering the yard at the east end of the building Running back in terror, he seized Andrew Jackson, who was nearest the door, by the hair, exclaiming, " The Tories are upon us." Our young hero ran out, and, putting his gun through the fork of the apple-tree, hailed the approaching band. Having repeated his hail without an answer, and per- ceiving the party rapidly advancing and but a few rods dis- tant, he fired. A volley was returned, which killed the sol- dier, who, having aroused the inmates of the house, had fol- lowed young Jackson, and was standing near him. The other band of Tories had now emerged from the west end of the stable, and mistaking the discharge of the advance party, then nearly on a line between them and the apple-tree, for the fire of a sallying party from the house, commenced a sharp fire upon their own friends. Thus both parties were brought to a stand. Young Andrew^ after discharging his gun, returned into the house ; and, with two others, commenced a fire from the west door, where both of his companions were shot down, one of them with a mortal wound. The Tories still kept up the fire on each other as w^ell as on the house, until, startled by the sound of a cavalry charge in the distance, they betook themselves to their horses and fled. The charge was sounded by Major Isbel, of the neighborbood, who had not a man with him ; but hearing the firing, and knowing that Lands was attacked, gave the blast upon his trumpet to alarm the assail- ants. Jackson was then scarcely fourteen years old. FIRST TAKEN PRISONER — HIS TREATMENT. Lord Rawdon, whose headquarters -were at Camden, had been left by Cornwallis in comm.and of the British force in South Carolina. Being informed of the Waxhaw settlers" return, he despatched Major Coflin, with a corps of ligh; dragoons, a company of regular infantry, and a band of To- ries, to capture or destroy them. At once the settlers resolv- FIRST TAKEN PRISONER — HIS TREATMENT. 145 cJ 1o imbody and fight. The Waxhaw Meeting-house was designated as the point of rendezvous. The British Major received intelligence of the time and place, and determined, by a rapid march, to fall upon them before they could organ- ize. On the day appointed, about forty, including llobert and Andrew Jackson, had collected, and were waiting for a friend- ly company, under Captain Nesbit. They saw, as they thought, the expected reinforcement approaching, and were not unde- ceived until a party of British dragoons rushed in among them. Putting his tories in front, whose dress was that of the country, the British officer kept his dragoons out of sight until so near as to leave no time for the militia to recover from the surprise which their appearance produced. Eleven of the little band were taken, and the rest, mounting their horses, dispersed and fled. Andrew Jackson was accompa- nied in his flight by Lieutenant Thomas Cravrford, and they soon found themselves pursued. Crossing a wet savanna, the horse of Crawford mired and fell. Young Jackson reach- ed dry land in safety, but instantly reined up, with the view of aiding, if he could, his unfortunate companion. He saw him, under a black jack, maintaining a hopeless contest with his SM-ord. Receiving a severe wound in the head, he soon surrendered to a British officer, upon a promise of quarter. Young Jackson continued his flight, and eluded pursuit Fall- ing in with his brother, they remained together during the next night, and on the approach of morning concealed them- selves in a thicket on the banks of a small creek, not far from the house of Lieutenant Crawford. Being within an enclosure where there was no path, they considered themselves entirely secure. Becoming very hungry, they concluded to leave their horses and guns, and venture out to Mv. Crawford's in quest of food. Emerging carefully from the thicket, and seeing no signs of an enemy, they approached the house, and setting a boy to watch the road by which only danger was apprehended, they entered and made their wants known to !Mrs. Crawford. In the mean time, a party of dragoons and Tories had traced out their retreat, seized their horses and guns, and, guided through the enclosure by a noted Tory, named Johnson, presented themselves at the door before the 10 146 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. young Jacksons were aware of their approach. Resistance and flight were alike hopeless, and neither was attempted. JVIr. Crawford was wounded and a prisoner. Mrs. Craw- ford, with several children, one of whom was at the breast, were the inmates of the house. A scene of destruction im- mediately ensued. All the glass, crockery, and other furni- ture, were dashed in pieces. The beds were ripped open, and the feathers scattered to the winds. The clothing of the whole family, men, women, and children, was cut and torn into frag- ments. Even the children's clothes shared the fate of the rest. Mercy for the wife and little ones of a husband and father who was already a wounded prisoner in their hands, and doomed to imprisonment, if not death, touched not the hearts of these remorseless men, and nothing was left to the terrified' and wretched family but the clothes they had on and a deso- late habitation. No attempt was made by the Briti.sh officer commanding, to arrest this destruction. While it was in pro- gress, he ordered Andrew Jackson to clean his muddy boots. The young soldier refused, claiming to be treated with the re- spect due to a prisoner of war. Instead of admiring this manly spirit in one so young, the cowardly ruffian struck at his head with his sword; but, throwing up his left hand, the intended victim received a gash upon it, the scar of which he carried to the grave. Turning to Robert Jackson, the officer ordered him to perform the menial task, and, receiving a like refusal, aimed a furious blow at his head also, and inflicted a wound from which he never recovered. After these exhibitions of ferocity, the party set Andrew Jackson upon a horse, and ordered him, on pain of instant death, to lead them to the house of a well-known Whig, by the name of Thompson. Apprehending that Thompson was at home, it occurred to his young friend that he might save him by a stratagem. At that time, when men were at home, they generally kept a look-out to avoid surprise, and had a horse ready for flight. Instead of leading the party by the usual route, young Andrew took them through woods and fields, which brought them over an eminence in sight of the house at the distance of half a mile. Arriving at the summit, he beheld Thompson's horse tied to his rack, a sure sign that FIRST TAKEN PKISOXER — HIS TREATMENT. 147 his owner was at home. The British dragoons darted forward, and, in breathless apprehension, Andrew Jackson kept his eye upon Thompson's house. With ine.xpressible joy, he saw Thompson, while the dragoons were still a few hundred yards distant, rush out, mount his horse, dash into the creek, which, swollen by recent rains, ran foaming by, and in a minute as- cend the opposite bank. He was then out of pistol-shot, and the dragoons not daring to swim the rapid stream, he stopped long enough to shout e.xecration and defiance, and then rode leisurely oti'. Andrew Jackson and his brother, with about twenty other prisoners, were then mounted on captured horses, and .started for Camden, orer forty miles distant. Not a mouthful of food or drop of drink was given them on the way. Fording streams deep from recent rains, when they stooped to take up a little water in the palms of their hands to assuage their burning thirst, they were ordered to desist by their brutal guard. Arrived at Camden, they were, with about two hundred and fifty other prisoners, confined in a redoubt surrounding the jail, and overlooking the country to the north. No attention was paid to their wounds or their wants. They had no beds, nor any substitute; and their only food was a scanty supply of bad bread. They were robbed of a portion of their cloth- ing, taunted by Tories with being rebels, and assured they would be hanged. Andrew Jackson himself was stripped of his jacket and slioes. Witli a refinement of cruelty, the Jack- sons and their cousin, Thomas Crawford, two of them severe- ly wounded, were separated as soon as their relationship was known, and kept in perfect ignorance of each others condi- tion or fate. In aggravation of their sufferings, the small-pox made its appearance among them. Not a step was taken to stay its progress or mitigate its inflictions. Without physi- cians or nurses, denied even the kind attentions and sympathy of relatives who were fellow-prisoners, their keepers left them to perish, not only without compassion, but Avitli apparent satisfaction. The apprehensions of the sound, the sufferings of the sick, the groans of the dying, and the presence of the 148 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. dead, formed a combination of honors which imagination cannot exaggerate. - One day Andrew Jackson was sunning himself in the en- trance of his prison, when the officer of the guard, apparent- ly struck with his youthful appearance, entered into conver- sation with him. With characteristic energy, the fearless lad described to liim the condition of the prisoners; and among the rest, their sufferings from the scantiness and bad quality of their food. Immediately meat was added to their bread, and there was otherwise a decided improvement. The Pro- vost was a Tory from New-York ; and it was afterward al- leged that he withheld the meat he had contracted to supply for the support of the prisoners, to feed a gang of negroes, which he had collected from the plantations of the Whigs, with intent to convert them to his own use. niS PRESENCE OF MIND. In 1789 he first visited the infant settlements on the Cum- berland River, including that at French Creek, near the pre- sent site of Na.3hville. Nearly all the settlers were then re- siding in stations, and it was several years before it was en- tirely safe for them to spread over the country and live in separate cabins. While the Shawanese from the north were carrying on perpetual war with the settlers in Kentucky, the Cherokees and Chocktaws from the south were wreaking their vengeance on the intruders upon their hunting-grounds in Ten- nessee. Twenty-two times during this period of danger and blood did Gen. Jackson, in the performance of his public and private duties, cross the wilderness of two hundred miles, then intervening between Jonesborough and the settlements on the Cumberland. The hardships and perils of those journeys it is difficult for travelers in steamboats, railroad cars, or even sta- ges, duly to appreciate. In addition to his rider, with a loaded rifle on his shoulder, the patient horse carried upon his back his master's blankets, provisions, and equipments. His food was the foliage of the bushes and the native grass. At a fire kindled from a tinder-box, or the flash of his rifle, the traveler HIS PHESENCE OF MIND. 149 roasted his hacon or wild meat on a stick, and cut it with his hunter's knil'e, while his fingers performed the functions of forks. Wrapped in his blanket, with his rifle for a bed-fellow, and his horse standing by, he slept, with no roof to protect him but the boughs of the forest. Without a water-proof hat or India-rubber coat, he was drenched to the skin by the fall- ing rain. Often with a craving appetite and a delicious pheas- ant or plump deer before him, he dared not kill it, lest the re- port of his rifle should give notice of his presence to a lurking savage foe. Once, Avhen General Jackson was traversing the wilderness alone, he came, after night and amid torrents of rain, to a creek, the voice of whose tumbling waters, already swollen to a flood, warned him not to enter upon its darkling ford. Dis- mounting from his horse, and turning his saddle bottom up- ward at the root of a tree, he wrapped his blanket around him, and with his rifle in one hand and his bridle in the other, sat upon it, with his horse standing before him, listening to the roaring stream and the pattering of raindrops upon the leaves of the forest, until the return of day enabled him to proceed. On another occasion, when, with three companions, he was on his way from Jonesborough to the Cumberland, arriving just after dark at the east side of the Emory, where it issues from the mountains, they discovered the fires of a large party of hostile Indians on the opposite bank. The moment the discovery was made, Andrew Jackson, as if by instinct, as- sumed the direction of the party. He enjoined silence and in- stant retreat, and having retired some distance into the moun- tains, directed his companions to quit the road cautiously and at difl'erent points, .so as to leave no distinct trace behind them,, and, reuniting, proceed up the stream, for the pxirpose of cro-ss- ing at some ford above and eluding the Indians. Guided by the noise of the waters, they progressed upward among the mountains during the night, and, as soon as it was day, ap- proached the stream. They found it too much swollen to be forded, and too rapid to be swam. Still apprehensive of pur- suit, they resumed their march, and about two o'clock in the- afternoon reached a place where the stream, after pitching over a rough precipice, spread out with a lake-like surface, 150 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. broken at a short distance below by another cataract. Here the party, not feeling safe until their trail was broken by the intervening stream, determined to attempt a passage. Binding logs and bushes together with hickory withes, they soon con- structed a small raft sufficient to convey three or four men, fixing two rude oars to the bows, and one as a steering-oar or rudder to the stern. It was cold, March weather, and very important to keep their clothes, blankets, and saddles, as well as their riiles and powder, from getting wet. To that end, it was concluded that Jackson and one of his companions should first cross with everything but the horses, and on a second trip swim them over alongside of the raft. Freighted accord- ingly, they pushed off from shore ; but in an instant an irre- sistible under-current seized the rude flotilla, and hurled if down the stream. For a few moments Jackson, who was at the oars, regardless of the .shouts of his companions, who fol- lowed him downward on the bank, struggled with the flood; but, perceiving that farther effort could only end in destruction he reversed the direction of his sluggish craft, in the hope of reaching the shore he had left. Putting forth all his strength, he was unable to bring it to land ; and although within a few feet, the suck of the cataract had already seized it. A moment more, and the raft, with its passengers, would have been dashed in pieces, when Jackson, wrenching one of his oars from its fastenings, sprung to the stern, and bracing himself there, held it out to his companions on shore, who seized it, and brought them safe to land. Reproached by them for not heeding their first warnings, Jackson coolly replied, « A miss is as good as a mile : j'ou see how near I can graze danger. Come on, and I Avill save you yet." Re-equipping themselves and horses, they resumed their march up the stream ; and after spending another night, supperless, in the woods, found a ford the next day, and, by a circuitous route, reached a log cabin on the road about forty miles in the rear of the Indian en- campment. On another occasion, he reached the rendezvous of a party at Bean's Station with which he was to cross the wilderness, the evening after they had left. Determined to overtake them, he employed a guide well acquainted with Indian signs and HIS MARRIAGE, 151 stratagems, and traveled all night. Just before day, they came to the fires where the party had encamped the fust part of the night. Following on, they soon discovered by the tracks in the road that a party of Indians, about twenty-two in number, was in pursuit of their friends ahead. They nev- ertheless followed on until so near the Indians that the water which the weight of their tread had pressed out of the rotten logs was not yet dry. The guide now refused to proceed ; but Jackson resolved to save his friends, or, at least, hazard his life in the attempt. Dividing provisions, he and his guide proceeded in opposite directions, Jackson cautiously advancing, and watching the tracks of the Indians. At length he saw where they had turned off to the right, probably for the pur- pose of getting ahead of the party, and attacking them from ambush, or falling upon them in the night. With increased speed, he hastened forward, and overtook his friends just be- fore dark. Having crossed a stream which was very deep and partly frozen over, they had halted and kindled fires, at which they were drying their clothes and baggage. Warned of their danger, they immediately resumed their march, and continued it without intermission during the whole night and the next day. The sky was overcast with clouds, and in the evening it began to snow. Arriving at the log cabins of a party of hunters, they asked protection therein from the storm, and rest for the night, which, with a churlishness not usual among these men of the woods, was rudely refused. Not having closed his eyes for two nights, Jack.son wrapped himself in his blank- ets, and laid down upon the ground, where he slept soundly, and in the morning found himself covered with six inches of snow. The party resumed their march, and reached their des- tination in safety; but they afterward learned that the hunters who had refused them the hospitality of their cabins, were murdered by the Indians. HIS MARRIAGE. jMiss Rachel Donelson, the daughter of Colonel Donelsoii, of Virginia, had been celebrated for her gayety, affability and sweetness of disposition. Her father emigrated to Tennessee, 152 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. and, dying, left her an orphan. She formed an unhappy mat- rimonial connection with a morose, jealous, and dissipated character by the name of Roberts, who soon abandoned her. The difficulty was made up, and the wedded pair came to- gether again ; soon after which Andrew Jackson became a transient boarder in the same house where Roberts and his wife were residing. A second rupture soon occurred, and Roberts left his wife and went to Kentucky. Learning that he intended returning and taking her there, and dreading his inhumanity and bad treatment, she determined to seek an asy- lum in Natchez, beyond his reach. Natchez was then the Oregon of America. In the spring of 1791, she came here with Colonel Starke and his family. At the earnest request of Colonel Starke, General Jackson piloted his family through the Indian country. After his return, Judge Overton commu- nicated to him the astounding intelligence that he was the unconscious cause of the last separation ; that it arose from Roberts' jealousy of him ; and the circumstance of his accom- panying Colonel Starke to protect his family from the Indians, had been seized upon by Roberts as a ground of divorce, in a petition to the Virginia Legislature. The thought that an innocent woman was suffering so un- justly on his account, made General Jackson's sensitive mind most uneasy and unhappy. He immediately sought out Rob- erts and expostulated with him on the injustice and cruelty of his causeless suspicion; but the interview ended in mutual defiances. At length news came that the Virginia Legislature had actually granted the divorce in accordance with Roberts' petition. Forthwith Andrew Jackson hastened to Natchez, and offered his hand and his heart to the innocent and amiable w^oman, who had been made so unhappy by false and un- founded accusations. He came to Natchez, to give the world the highest evidence he could give of her innocence. Although free to form a new connexion, INIrs. Roberts de- clined the proffered offer. But xVndrew Jackson was not to be outdone. He addressed her in the language of Ruth to Naomi : " Entreat me not to leave thee or to return from following after thee, for where thou goest I will go, where thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people shoJl be my people, and thy God my IS SET UPON BY ErLLIE?. 153 God ; where thou Jiest I will die, and there will I be buried." A promise which he literally fulfilled in refusing the sarco- phagus of the Emperor Alexander Serverus, that he might be buried by her. At length, after some three months, J\Irs. Roberts, being convinced that the chivalry which prompted the proposal, had become associated with genuine love, ac- cepted the offer, and they were married in this city or vicinity, and returned to Tennessee. On arriving there, finding that the divorce had not gone through all the forms required by the laws of Virginia, at the time of their marriage here, the ceremony was again performed there. IS SET UPON BY BULLIES. In the state of society e.xisting in Tennessee in his younger days, there was a grade of men who prided themselves on their courage and prowess as mere bullies, and were always ready, like the brute beast, to decide the question of superi- ority by a fight. Equals in standing who hated, but dare not encounter the fearless Jackson, stimulated this class of men to attack, in the hope of degrading, if they could not destroy him. The first man set upon him, with scarcely a pretence of provocation, was a flax-breaker of great strength and courage, whom he soon reduced to submission with his own winding- blades, the only weapon within his reach. His next encoun- ter was at a court in Sumner county, with a noted bully whom he did not know. While he was conversing with a gentle- man on business, ika bully approached, and without saying a word, placed his heels on Jackson's feet. Pushing him off, Jackson seized a slab, and with a forward thrust upon the breast, brought him to the ground. The interference of the crowd put an end to the conflict ; but the baflled bully, snatch- ing a stake from the fence, again approached with direful im- precations. At the earnest entreaty of Jackson, the crowd retired from between them. Poising his slab, he then ad- vanced with firm step and steady eye upon his antagonist, who dropped his stake at his approach, jumped the fence, and ran into the woods. 154 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSOX. ARREST OF A CRIMINAL. Soon after his resignation as Senator, the Legislature of Tennessee conferred upon him, unsolicited, the appointment of Judge of the Supreme Court of Law and Equity. He was then thirty years old. His first court was held at Jonesborough, where an incident occurred illustrative alike of the mdeness of the times and the firmness of the new judge. A man named Russell Bean was indicted for cutting off the ears of his infant child in a drunken frolic. He was in the courtyard ; but such was his strength and ferocity, that the sheritf, not daring to approach him, made a return to the court that " Russell Bean will not be taken." Judge Jackson, with his peculiar emphasis, said that such a return was an absurdi- ty, and could not be received. "He must be taken," said the Judge, " and, if necessary, you must summon the posse com- mitatus." The mortified sheriff retired, and waiting until the court adjourned for dinner, summoned the judges themselves, as part of the posse. Conceiving that the object of the sheriff was to avoid a dangerous service under cover of the judges' refusal to obey the summons, Judge Jackson instantly replied, "Yes, sir, I will attend you, and see that you do your duty." Learning that Bean was armed, he requested a loaded pistol, which was put into his hand. He then said to the sheritf, "Advance and arrest him; I will protect you from harm." Bean, armed with a dirk and brace of pistols, assumed an at- titude of defiance and desperation. But when the judge drew near, he began to retreat. " Stop and submit to the law," cried the judge. The culprit stopped, threw down his pistols, and replied, " I will surrender to you, sir, but to no one else." DIFFICULTY WITH GOVERNOR SEVIER. Fidelity to his friends has been, at every period of General Jackson's life, one of his most striking characteristics. A misunderstanding arose between Jackson and his friend Judge M'Nairy, growing out of the agency of the latter in causing the Removal of General Robertson, who had been the father of the State of Tennessee, from the office of agent for the DIFFICULTY WITH GOVERNOR SEVIER. 155 Chickasaw Indians. One of the consequences of that remo- val was, that a Mr. Searcy, who had emigrated to the country with them, and continued their steadfast friend, lost his office as clerk to the agency, on which he depended for support. Not perceiving any public reasons requiring this removal, he remonstrated with iNI'Nairy on the course he had pursued. An altercation ensued, which produced an alienation never entirely obliterated. This incident, added the weight of a re- spectable and powerful family to the hostile interests already arrayed against him. Among his enemies was John Sevier, the Governor of the State. Sevier was very popular, and being a candidate for re-election in 1803, his exa.speration against General Jackson was, in the course of the canvass, imbibed by the powerful party which supported him. In East Tennessee it had arisen to a high pitch ; and while on his way to Jonesborough to hold his court in the fall of 1803, he was informed that a com- bination had been organized to mob him on his arrival. It had no effect but to increase his anxiety to reach his destina- tion. Having been sick on the road, he pushed forward while scarcely able to sit on his horse, and on his arrival at Jones- borough could not dismount without assistance. Having a high fever upon him, he retired immediately to his room, and laid down upon the bed. In a short time a friend called, and informed him that a regiment of men, headed by Colonel Har- rison, had assembled to tar and feather him, and begged him to lock his door. He immediately rose, threw the door wide open, and said to his friend, " Give my compliments to Colo- nel Harrison, and tell him my door is open to receive him and his regiment whenever they choose to wait upon me ; and I hope the Colonel's chivalry will induce him to lead his men, and not follow them." Upon the delivery of his message, the mob dispersed ; and, having apologized for the inconside- rate violence of his conduct, Harrison remained ever after on good terms with General Jackson. His next court was at Knoxville, where the legislature was then in session. They had entered into an investigation of the land frauds which Jackson had done so much to defeat, and there was some evidence tending to implicate the Governor. 156 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. His exasperation became higher than ever. As Judge Jack- son left the court-house on the tirst day of his court, he found a crowd in front, in the midst of which stood Governor Sevier, with his sword in his hand, haranguing them in a loud voice. As Jackson advanced, the Governor turned upon him ; and an altercation ensued, in which insults were given and retorted. Being repeatedly defied by the Governor to meet him in single combat, the General sent him a challenge, which was accepted. But in consequence of difficulties on the part of the challen- ged party, as to the time and place of meeting, the General published him in the usual form. It was then understood, without any formal arrangement, that they would meet at a place called Southwest Point, within the Indian boundary. Thither the General repaired with a single friend. Having waited a couple of days without seeing or hearing of the Go- vernor, he resolved to return to Knoxville, and bring the quar- rel to a close. He had not, however, proceeded a mile when he saw the Governor approaching, escorted by about twenty men. He had already prepared another note to the Governor, setting forth his manifold grievances, and, halting in the road, he sent his friend forward to deliver it. The Governor refu- sed to receive it. Out of patience with what he conceived to be an aggravation of former indignities, the General resolved to end the matter on the spot. He was armed with a brace of pistols at his saddle-bow and a cane ; the Governor with a brace of pistols and a sword. Advancing slowly until with- in one hundred yards of the Governor, he leveled his cane as ancient knights did their spears, put spurs to his horse, and charged upon his antagonist. Astounded at this bold and un- expected movement, the Governor's friends had not presence of mind enough to interpose ; and the Governor himself, dis- mounting to avoid the shock, trod on the scabbard of his sword, and was rendered incapable of resistance. A rally of his at- tendants prerented any very serious mischief. In the Gover- nor's party were gentlemen who were as much the friends of General Jackson as of himself ; and through their intercession all further hostile intentions were abandoned, and the parties' rode on some miles together. HIS DIEL WITH DICKINSON. 157 DUKL WITH DICKINSON. Genernl Jackson had a passion for fine horses. It became a Drincipal branch of his fanning business to raise them from the best blooded stock imported from Virginiaand North Carolina. The enthusiasm of his character displayed itself in his attach- ment to favorite animals he had raised, and perhaps no man in the Western country was equally successful in that branch of agricultural pursuits. More as means to exhibit his stock and recommend it to purchasers than to indulge in the practices common at such places, he brought out his favorite horses up- on the race-courses of the day, and, though not a sportsman, lost and won in many a well-contested field. An occasion of this sort, however, led to one of the most unfortunate incidents of his hfe. He liad a favorite stud named Truxton. A IMr. Erwin and his son-in-law, Charles Dickinson, proffered a match race at $2000 in ca.sh notes, with a forfeiture of .'tfSOO, between him and a favorite horse owned by them, called Ploughboy. The bet was accepted, and a list of notes made out; but when the time for running arrived, Erwin and Dickinson chose to pay the forfeit. Erwin offered sundry notes not due, withholding the list which was in the hands of Dickinson. Jackson re- fused to receive them, and demanded the list, claiming the right to select from the noles described upon it. The list was produced, a selection made, and the affair satisfactorily adjust- ed. Afterward a rumor reached Dickinson that General Jack- son cliarged Erwin with producing a list of notes different from the true one. In an interview between Jackson and Dickinson, the former denied the statement, and the latter gave his author. Jackson instantly proposed to call him in; but Dickinson declined. Meeting with the author afterward, Jackson had an altercation with him, which ended in blows. Here tlie afliiir ought to have ended. But, in addition to the ordinary talebearers, there were those who desired to produce a duel between Jackson and Dickinson. The latter was brave and reckless, a trader in blacks and blooded horses, and repu- ted to be the best shot in the country. A quarrel with such a 158" LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. man as General Jackson was flattering to his pride, and men were not wanting to take advantage of the weakness of the one party and the inflexibility of the other, to push matters to extremities. Exasperation was produced ; publication follow- ed publication ; insults were given and retorted ; until, at length, General Jackson was informed that a paper, more se- vere than its predecessors, was in the hands of the printer, and that Dickinson was about to leave the state. He flew to Nashville, and demanded a sight of it in the printer's hands. It was insulting in the highest degree, contained a direct im- putation of cowardice, and concluded with a notice that the first of the next week the author would leave for JVIaryland. A stern challenge, demanding immediate satisfaction, was the consequence. The challenge was given the 23d of INIay, and Dickinson's publication appeared the next morning. Jackson pressed for an instant meeting ; but by the other party it was postponed until the 30th, then to take place at Harrison's Mills, on Red River, within the limits of Kentucky ; the distance twenty-four feet ; the parties to stand facing each other, with pistols down perpendicularly; and, at the signal word " Fire," to fire as they pleased. Dickinson occupied the intermediate time in practising; and his ferocious boasts how often he had hit the General chalked out on a tree, and his unfeeling oflfers to bet that he would kill him at the approaching meeting, be- ing duly communicated, had an effect upon his antagonist which can be better conceived than described. Jackson went upon the ground with a conviction that his life was eagerly sought, and the expectation of losing it, but with a determi- nation which such a conviction naturally inspired in a bosom which never knew fear. At the word, Dickinson fired, and the dust was seen to fly from Jackson's clothes ; the next in- stant Jackson fired, and Dickinson fell. Jackson, with his friend and surgeon, left the ground, and had traveled about twenty miles towards home, when the latter first knew that the general was Avounded by discovering blood oozing through his clothes. On examination, it was found that Dickinson's ball in passing had buried itself in his breast, shattering two of his ribs near their articulation with the breast bone. It was some weeks before he was able to attend to business. Dick- HIS ADVENTURE IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. 159 inson was taken to a neighboring honse, where he survived but a few hours. The friends of Dickinson and the enemies of Jackson raised tales of unfairness in the light; but these were put down, in the estimation of candid men, by the certilicates of tlie seconds that all had been done according to the previous understanding of the parties, and proof that Dickinson himself, though able to converse, never uttered a complaint before his death. The melancholy affair ended with various publications and certifi- cates characteristic of the times. The firmness of nerve exhibited by General Jackson on this occasion, has not ceased to be a subject of admiration. There are many brave men who can look da,nger in the face without the change of a muscle ; but few there are who can hold a steady haml at the instant a leaden messenger of death is passing through their bodies. Not a man on the ground, ex- cept General Jackson himself, knew that he was wounded ; and every muscle was as quiet, and his hand as steady, as if he had not known it himself. The stern purpose which might in part have nerved him, was best described by himself, when a fiiend expressed astonishment at his self-command : " Sir," said he, " I should have killed him if he had shot me through the brain." A HIS ADVENTURE IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. In 181!, Jackson had occasion to visit Natchez, in the Mis- sissippi Territory, for the purpose of bringing up a number of blacks, a part of whom had become his property in conse- quence of having been security for a friend, and the remainder were hands which had been employed by a nephew in the neighborhood of that place. The road led through the Chick- asaw and Choctaw nations of Indians, and the station of the Indian agent for the Choctaws was upon it. On reaching the agency, he found seven or eight families of emigrants and two members of the INIississippi Legislative Council detained by the agent, under the pretence that it was necessary for them to have passports from the Governor of INIississippi. One of their number had been sent forward to procure them. In the 160 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. mean time, the emigrants were buying corn from the agent at an extravagant price, and si)litting rails for him at a very- moderate one. Indignant at the wrong inflicted on the emi- grants, he reproached the members of the Council for submit- ting to the detention, and asked the agent how he dared to demand a pass from a free American, traveling on a public road. The agent replied by inquiring, with much temper, whether he had a pass. " Yes, sir," rejoined the general, " I always carry mine with me. I am a free-born American citi- zen ; and that, under the Constitution and laws, is my passport to go wherever my business calls me." He told the emigrants to*gear up their wagons, and if any one attempted to obstruct them, to shoot him down as a highway robber. Setting them the example, he continued his journey, regardless of the threats of the agent. " Before he had concluded his business, he was informed that the agent had collected about fifty white men and one hundred Indians to stop him on his return, unless he produced a pass- port. Though advised to procure one, he refused to do so, stating that the American citizen should never in his person be subjected to the insult and indignity of procuring a pass to ejiable him to travel a public highway in his own country. Like all travelers through the Indian country, at that time, he was armed with a brace of pistols ; and having added a rifle, and another pistol, he commenced his return journey. By a friend who had gone forward to reconnoitre, he Avas informed, when within a few miles of the agency, that the agent had his force in readiness to stop him. He bade his friend advance, and tell the agent, that if he attempted to stop him, it would be at the peril of his life. He then put his blacks in order, armed with their axes and clubs, told them not to stop until directed by him, and if any one offered to oppose them, to cut him down at his order. Riding by their side, he approached the agency, when the agent appeared, and asked him whether he would stop. " That," replied the general, " depends on circumstances. I have been informed that you are prepared to prevent my passing here by force. I intend to pass ; and whoever attempts to prevent me, shall lay low;" and, with a look not to be mistaken, he grasped his rifle with a firmer grip. AFFRAY WITH COLONEL BENTOX. 161 The agent said he had no such design, and did not attempt to interrupt him. AFFRAY WITH COLONEL BENTOX. After his return from Natchez, he had been called upon by liis friend, the late Governor Carroll, to act as his second in an affair of honor with a brother of Colonel Thomas H. Benton, in which that brother was severely wounded. Colonel Ben- ton, who was then at Washington, thought the relations which existed between him and General Jackson ought to have pre- vented the latter from acting against his brother, while Gen- eral Jackson thought his relations with Carroll required from him that act of friendship. A correspondence passed between the parties, which, however, only widened the breach, and it ended in a fight at a public-house in Nashville, in which Gen- •cral Jackson's left arm was .shattered by a pistol shot. ADOPTION OF AN INDIAN BOY. Among the slain at the battle on the Coosa, fought by Jackson on the 3d of November, 18 13, was found an Indian woman with an infant boy, unhurt, sucking her lifeless breast. The lit- tle orphan was carried to camp with the other prisoners, and General Jackson attempted to hire some of the captive women to take care of him. They refused, saying, " All his relations are dead, kill him too." The General had a little brown su- gar left, and he directed his attendants to make feed of sugar and water for the child until he should reach Huntsville, where he sent him to be nursed at his expense. Upon his re- turn from the campaign, he took the child home, named him Lincoyer, and with the cordial aid of Mrs. Jackson, raised him as tenderly as if he had been his own son. He grew to be a beautiful and robust young man, as well educated as the white boys of the most respectable families. Yet his tastes were always Indian. He delighted in rambling over the fields and through the woods, sticking into his hair and clothes every gay feather he could find. He was always anxious to return to the Creek nation with the chiefs who, for many years after 11 162 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON, the war, continued to visit the Hermitage. Desiring that he should follow some mechanical employment, General Jackson, look him into the various shops in Nashville, that he might choose his trade. He was best pleased with the saddler's busi- ness, and was accordingly bound out as an apprentice to that trade. Regularl)' every other Saturday he visited the Hermi- tage, and generally was sent to Nashville on horse-back the next Monday morning. Failing in health, the General took him home to the Hermitage, where he was nursed with a fa- ther's and mother's tenderness ; but in vain. He went rapidly into a consumption, and, not yet arrived at manhood, sunk in- to the grave. By the General and Mrs. Jackson he was mourned as a favorite son, and they always spoke of hiuL with parental aflection. HIS PIIILANTIIROPV. Among the sick, on his return with his volunteers from Natchez, was a young man reported by the surgeon to be in a dying condition, whom it was useless to remove. « Not a man shall be left who has life in him," said the General. The young man was lifted into a wagon in a state of torpor, and wholly insensible. The melancholy march commenced ; and the General, with parental solicitude, passed along the train,, taking special care that the invalids should, in position and appliances, have every comfort of which their situation was susceptible. With peculiar anxiety he watched the apparent- ly dying youth, as he was jostled by the movements of the wagon. At length the young man opened his eyes, and the next instant exclaimed, " Where am I .'" " On your way home, my good fellow," replied the General, in a cheering tone. The eflect was electric ; he improved front that moment, and in a few weeks the General had the pleas- ure of restoring him, in good health, to his family and friends. FEEDINC. ON ACORNS. When General Jackson started on his expedition to relieve Talladega, he had on hand scarcely one day's provisions. It was his expectation to collect supplies from the Indian coun- FEEDING OX ACORNS, 16^ try ahead; but the failure of General White lo occupy Fort Strother made an instant retreat absolutely necessary Already had his foraging parties gleaned up every thing in the shape of food for man and horse which could be found in the vicin- ity of the fort: and it was with a starving army that he turned back from the field of victory, after burying his dead and pro- viding transportation for the wounded. From the occupants of the relieved fort he purchased a small quantity of provisions, being all they had to spare; but they were not a meal for his army. The General and his men were equally destitute, and with eagerness seized on any thing which the forest presented to gratify the cravings of hunger. While marching with the van of his army. General Jackson observed under an oak tree a quantity of acorns, which tempted his appetite. Dismount- ing, he gathered some handfulls of them into his pocket, and, holding his bridle in one hand, sat down on the roots of a tree to enjoy his repast, while the rear came up. A soldier observing him in the act of eating, and supposing that he ha(V taken care to provide for himself, while his men were starving;,-' approached and demanded something to eat. " I never turn away the hungry," said the General, " while I have any thing to give them." Thrusting his hand into his pocket and ofTer- ing the soldier a few acorns, he added, " I will most cheerful- ly divide with you such food as I have." Strack with surprise, the soldier reported the incident to his companions, who, for the time, cheerfully submitted to privations which they knew were shared in common by them and their commander. QUELLING A MUTINY. ' During his Creek campaign great difficulties grew out of the scarcity of provisions. So long as the aspect of the army was forward, and an expectation of soon meeting the enemy occu- pied the minds of the men, they cheerfully submitted to priva- tion, and with alacrity complied with every wish of their com- mander But their eagerness for battle had been satisfied at I Talluschatchee and Talladega, and when, instead of advancing i- to new conflicts, they found themselves in retreat, harassed by 1G4 LIFE or ANDREW JACKSON. an enemy which no valor conld repel, their spirits sank with- in them, and their thoughts turned upon home. Cruelly neg- lected l)y their country, whose battles they had fought, resent- ment and discontent took possession of their bosoms. Increas- ing from day to day, and extending from individuals to com- panies, and from companies to regiments, they soon threaten- ed an entire dissolution of the army. The volunteers, though deeply imbued with this feeling, were at first restrained from any public exhibition of it by their soldierly pride ; but the mi- litia regiments determined to leave the camp, and return to Tennessee. Apprized of their intention. General Jackson re- solved to defeat it ; and as they drew out in the morning to commence their march, they found the volunteers drawn up across their path, with orders to require them, under penalty of instant military execution, to return to their position. They at once obeyed, admiring the firmness which baffled their de- sign. In this operation the volunteers had been unwilling instru- ments in the hands of their general, and, chagrined at their own success, resolved themselves the next day to abandon the camp in a body. What was their surprise, on making a move- ment to accomplish that object, to find the very militia whose mutiny they had the day before repressed, drawn up in the same position to resist them! So determined was their look, that the volunteers deemed it prudent to carry out the parallel, and returned quietly to their quarters. This process, by which nearly a whole army, anxious to desert, was kept in service by arraying one species of force against another, though effec- tual for the moment, would not bear repetition, and the gener- al was sensible how feeble was the thread by which he held them together. The cavalry, who not only shared in the gen- eral privation, but had no forage, petitioned for permission to retire to the vicinity of Huntsville, pledging themselves to re- turn when called on, after recruiting their horses and receiving their winter clothing. Their petition was granted, and they immediately left the camp. Having received letters from Colonel Pope, assuring him that abundant supplies were on the way, General Jackson re- solved to make an effort to produce good feeling throughout -^ QUELLING A MUTINY. 165 his army, and induce them to give him their cheerful obedi- ence until he should be able to strike a decisive blow. He therefore called them together, laid this information before them, painted in glov/ing colors their devotion to their coun- try, their services and their sullerings, depicted the miseries they would bring on their own sick and wounded companions, and upon the defenseless frontier settlers, and the deep and ir- retrievable disgrace upon themselves, if they were now to abandon the service and dissolve the army. He presented ev- ery consideration which could operate on the heads and hearts of patriotic, brave, humane, and proud men, and requested them to^confer together that night, and communicate to him their views the next morniiig. Judging others by his own devoted heart, he could not but believe that such an appeal would be elfectual. With mortification and grief, he received from the officer.? of the volunteer regiments in the morning the annunciation that, in their opinion, " Nothing short of marching the army imme- diately back to the settlements could prevent those difficulties and that disgrace which must attend a forcible desertion of the camp by his soldiers." The officers of the militia reported their willingness to wait a few days longer for a supply of provisions, and, if it should be received, proceed with the cam- paign ; otherwise, to be marched back where supplies could be procured. To preserve the volunteers for farther service, if possible, the general determined to gratify their wishes, and ordered General Hall to lead them back to Fort Deposit, there to obtain relief for themselves, and then to return as an escort to the provisions. The second regim.ent of volunteers, how- ever, ashamed to be found less loyal than the militia, begged permission to remain with their general, and the first regiment marched alone. It is impossible to describe the emotions of General Jackson, when he saw a regiment of brave men, whom he had refused to abandon at Natchez even at the com- mand of his government, for the preservation of whose well- earned fame he would have hazarded his life, deserting him in the wilderness, reckless of honor, of patriotism, of gratitude, and humanity. Again, on the 16th of November, writing to Colonel Pope, 166 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. he says: " My men are all starving. More than half of them left me yesterday for Fort Deposit in consequence of the scarci- ty, and the whole will do so in a few days if plentiful supplies do not arrive. Again and again I must entreat you to spare neither labor nor expense to furnish me, and furnish me with- out delay. We have already struck the blow which would, if followed up, put an end to Creek hostility. I cannot ex- press the torture of my feelings when I reflect that a campaign so auspiciously begun, and which might be so soon and so glo- riously terminated, is likely to be rendered abortive for the want of supplies. For God's sake, prevent so great an evil." In his address to the army on the 14th, General Jackson had told them that in case supplies did not reach them within two days, he would lead them back where provisions could be had. Two days had elapsed after the departure of the volunteers, and no supplies had come. The declaration had been made in the confident expectation that provisions, then known to be on the way, would reach them before the expiration of that peri- od ; but the general felt bound to comply with his word. He immediately proceeded to make arrangements for the abandon- ment of Fort Strother ; but, contemplating the new courage with which it would inspire the enemy, the calamities it was likely to bring on the frontiers, and the disgrace upon his ar- my, if not on himself, he exclaimed, " If only two men will remain with me, I will never abandon this post." " You have one, general," promptly replied Captain Gordon, of the spies ; '« let us look if we cannot find another." The captain immedi- ately beat up for volunteers, and, with the aid of some of the general statl', soon raised one hundred and nine, who agreed to stand by their general to the last extremity. Confident that supplies were at hand, the general marched with the militia, announcing that they would be ordered back if provisions should be met at no great distance from the fort. Within ten or twelve miles they met a drove of a hundred and fifty beeves. They halted, butchered, and ate ; but the courage inspired by satiety was that of mutineers. Upon receiving an order to return, with the exception of a small party to convey the sick and wounded, they resolved to disobey it. One com- pany resumed its march homeward before General Jackson ■CAMP DISCIPLINE. 167 was apprized of their design. Informed of this movement, he hastened to a spot about a quarter of a mile ahead, where General Cofiee, with a part of the stafl'and a few soldiers, had halted, and ordered them instantly to form across the road, and lire on the mutineers if they should attempt to pass. Rather than encounter the bold faces before them, the mutinous com- pany thought it expedient to return to the main body, and it was hoped that no farther opposition would be exhibited. Going alone for the purpose of mixing among his men, and appeasing them l)y argument and remonstrance, the general found a .spirit of mutiny pervading the whole brigade. They liad formed, and were on the point of moving off, knowiug that no force was at hand powerful enough to resist them ; but they had to deal with a man Avho was a host in himself. He seized a musket, threw it across his horse's neck, placed liimself in front of the brigade drawn up in column, and de- clared he Avould shoot the lirst man who took a step in ad- vance. Struck with awe, the men gazed at him in sullen si- lence. In this position. General Cofiee and some of the mem- bers of his staff rode up, and placed themselves at his side. The faithful officers and soldiers, amounting to about two companies, formed in his rear, under orders to fire when he did. For .'?ome minutes not a word was uttered. A murmur then arose among the mutineers, and at length they signified their willingness to return. The matter was amicably arrang- ed, and the troops marched back to Fort Strother, though not in the best spirits. This incident derives additional interest from the facts, that the general's left arm was not so far healed as to enable him to aim a musket, and the one he had was too much out of or- der to be tired. CAMP DISCIPLINE. John Wood, a private in the West Tennessee militia, was one of the men engaged under the order of General Roberts, who, after being mustered into service and approaching near the camp, mutinied and returned home, because the command- ing general would not exceed his authority in giving them a 163 J.IFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. positive promise of payment for an illegal tour of duty. With others, he had afterward returned and been pardoned. In a few weeks, however, his refractory spirit again exhibited itself in positive disobedience of orders, insulting language towards his commanding officer, and open mutiny. For these crimes he Avas tried by a court-martial, found guilty, and sentenced to suffer death by shooting. This sentence was approved by General Jackson, and on the 14th of March carried into effect. To produce the intended effect on the minds of the militia, an address by the general to the prisoner was read in the shape of a general order, setting forth the enormity of his offenses,, the absolute necessity for order and obedience in an army, the- determination of the general to enforce them, and concluding, as follows : " This is an important crisis, in which, if we all act as be- comes us, everything is to be hoped for towards the accom- plishment of the objects of our government ; if otherwise, everything to be feared. How it becomes us to act, we all know ; and what our punishment shall be if we act otherwise, must be known also. The law, which points out the one, prescribes the other. Between that law and its offender the commanding general ought not to be e.vpected to interfere, and he loill not, where there are no circumstances of alleviation. There appear to be none such in your case; and, however, as a man, he may deplore your unhappy situation, he cannot, as an officer, without infringing his duty, arrest the sentence of the court-martial." ASSAULT OF LIEUTENANT RANDOLPH. On the 6th of May, 1833, Gen. Jackson, with the members of his Cabinet, and his Private Secretary, left Washington in compliance with the invitation of the " Monumental Commit- tee" at Fredericksburg, to lay the corner-stone of the pillar, to be erected in honor of the mother of Washington. The President and his party embarked in the large and commodi- ous steamer Cygnet. " The day," says a correspondent of the N. Y. Mirror, " was mild, and the air soft and refreshing. After the company had assembled on board, they paid their IS ASSAULTED BY LIEUT£NAXT RANDOLPH. 1G9 respects to the Executive, which that venerable patriot re- ceived with the ease and grace of the most finished gentleman of the old school. They then separated ; some of the party- went upon the upper deck, to admire the picturesque and beautiful scenery of the surrounding country, whence, from the north round to the south, lay a line of high grounds, form- ing within their interior an extensive amphitheatre. On the .south, the broad and peaceful Potomac, stretching as far as the eye could reach. On the eastern branch of the river was to be seen the navy yard, and several of the public armed ves- sels lying in the stream, with our flag floating on the breeze; and, on the western branch, we had a distant but beautiful view of Georgetown, as it slopes from the high grounds to the river: and between that and the navy yard, was to be seen the city of Washington, whence we had just taken our depart- ure ; and from our situation we had, at one glance, a view of the bridge crossing the river, which exceeds a mile in extent, the Chief Magistrate's house, and the Capitol, with its splen- did dome, rearing its head over every other object. Among those who went upon the upper deck were the heads of de- partment. A group of ladies, with their attendants, were seated in the after part of the boat ; and an excellent band of music was playing several national airs, as the steamer glided on her way, and shortly arrived at the city of Alexandria. General Jack.son had, just previous to the boat's reaching the wharf, retired to the cabin, and had taken his seat at a long table, which had been set preparatory for dinner. He was seated on the west side, and next to the berths, there being barely room enough left between the berths and table for a person to pass, by moving sidewise. Upon his left sat Mrs. Thruston, the wife of Judge Thruston, of Washington ; and on the opposite side of the table sat Major Donelson, the Ge- neral's private secretary ; JNIr. Potter, a clerk in one of the departments at Washington : and Captain Broome, of the ma- rine corps. The President was reading a newspaper. While in this situation, (there being no other person in the cabin or neai" him,) a large number of citizens came on board, as it was supposed to pay their respects to him. Among the number 170 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. was Randolph, late a lieutenant in the nav)-. He made his way into the cabin, and after speaking to Captain Broome, who had long been acquainted with him, he immediately ad- vanced between the table and the berths toward the President, as if to address him. The President did not know him, and it seems that Captain Broome did not mention his name, because, he said, he believed that the object of his visit was to present a petition praying to be restored to the navy again; still, as the Captain did not know that that was the object of his visit, and fearing, as he said, that he might intend to commit some act of violence, he stepped quickly to the same side of the table, and advanced up to and near Randolph, who had by this time come so near General Jackson as to be observed by him, who, supposing it was some person about to salute him, said that he was afflicted with a severe pain in his side, and begged to be excused for not rising ; and seeing that Randolph had some difficulty in pulling otf his glove, he stretched out his hand toward him, saying, at the same time, "Never mind your glove, sir." Upon this, Randolph thrust one hand violently into the President's face; but, before he could make use of the other, or repeat his blow. Captain Broome seized and drew him off toward the door. A part of the table was broken down in the scuffle. Mr. Potter thrust his umbrella at Randolph across the table, at the moment Captain Broome seized him ; whereupon, Randolph's friends clenched him, hurried him out (Of the cabin, and off from the boat, leaving his hat behind. 'This was done so quickly, that the few persons who were near the President were not aware of it, as they had all turn- ed round after pushing Randolph away, to inquire whether or not the Chief Magistrate was much hurt. He was so confi- ned behind the table, that he could not rise with ease, nor -could he seize his cane in time to defend himself. The news of this outrage was soon circulated around the boat, and at first it seemed so incredible that no one could be found to be- lieve it; all, however, immediately repaired to the cabin, and heard the President relate the story himself. " Had I been apprised," said he, " that Randolph stood be- iore me, I should have been prepared for him, and I could INTERVIEW WITH JUDGE DOUGLASS. 171 have defended myself. No villain," said he, " has ever esca- ped me before ; and he would not, had it not been for my con- fined situation." Some blood was seen on his face, and he was asked whether he had been much injured .' "No," said he, " I am not much hurt ; but in endeavoring to rise, I have wounded my side, which now pains me more than it did." About this time, one of the citizens of Alexandria, who had heard of the outrage, addressed the General, and said : " Sir, if you will pardon me, in case I am tried and convicted, I will kill Randolph for this insult to you, in fifteen min- utes !"* " No, sir," said the President, " I cannot do that. I want no man to .stand between me and my assailants, and none to take revenge on my account. Had I been prepared for this cowardly villain's approach, I can assure you all, that he would never have the temerity to undertake such a thing again. INTERVIEW WITH JUDGE DOUGLASS. While attending the Nashville Convention of August, 1844, we visited the Hermitage, (only twelve miles distant,) in com- pany with Judge Douglass, of Illinois, and some other of our fellow-citizens. The Hermitage was crowded with people from almost every State, who had been invited thither by the venerable patriot on the day succeeding the Convention. Governor Clay, of Alabama, was near General Jackson, ^vho was himself sitting on the sofa in the hall of his resi- dence ; and as each person entered. Governor Clay introduced him to the Hero, and he passed along. When Judge Douglass was thus introduced. General Jackson raised his still brilliant eyes, and gazed for a moment in the countenance of the Judge, still retaining his hand : " Are you the IVIr. Douglass of Illi- nois, who delivered a speech last session on the subject of the fine imposed on me for declaring martial law at New-Orleans .'" asked General Jackson. *It has been well remarked, that this proposal was more insult- ing than the assault. 172 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. " I have delivered a speech in the House of Representatives upon that subject," was the modest reply of our friend. "Then stop!" said General Jackson, "Sit down here, be- side me ! I desire to return to you my thanks for that speech. You are the first man that has ever relieved my mind on a .subject which has rested upon it for thirty years. My ene- mies have always charged me with violating the Constitution of my country, by declaring martial law at New-Orleans; and my friends have always admitted the violation, but have con- tended that the circumstances justified me in that violation. I never could understand how it was, that the performance of a solemn duty to my country — a duty which, if I had neglected to perform, would have made me a traitor in the sight of God and man — could properly be pronounced a violation of the Constitution. I felt convinced in my own mind, that I was not guilty of such a henious offense ; but I could never make out a legal justification of my course ; nor has it ever been done, sir, until you, on the floor of Congress, at the late ses- sion, established it beyond the possibility of cavil or doubt. "I thank you, sir, for that speech. It has relieved my mind from the only circumstance that rested painfully upon it. Throughout my whole life, I never performed an official act which I viewed as a violation of the Constitution of my country ; and I can now go down to the grave in peace, with the perfect consciousness that I have not broken, at any period of my life, the Constitution or laws of my country." PERSONAL ADDRESS OF GENERAL JACKSON. " Nature had poured out her gifts lavishly upon him — en- dowing him with an intellect of extraordinary vigor — a will of iron — and, at the same time, a suavity of manner and an elegance of demeanor, which, all combined, would have made him a man of " mark and note" in any part of the world. Few men e.xcelled him in personal address, and he impressed all who approached him with the opinion that they were in the presence of a being of no ordinary character. We well re- member to have heard a distinguished diplomatist assert that, in his carriage and bearing as President of the United States, HIS PERSONAL ADDRESS. 173 he seemed to posj^ess intuitively, and to display, without an effort, qualities which other individuals did not exhibit, whose Avhole lives had been passed in the most refined Courts of Europe. He had the power, beyond most men, of infusing his own spirit and opinions into tho.se who came near him, and of arousing their personal attachment." CHAPTER VII PRESIDENT JACKSON'S MESSAGE TO THE SENATE OF THE UNI- TED STATES, RETURNING THE BILL FOR RE-CHARTERING THE UNITED STATES BANK, WITH HIS OBJECTIONS. TO THE SENATE : The bill <' to modify and continue" the act entitled " An act to incorporate the subscribers to the Bank of the United States," was presented to me on the 4th of July instant. Having con- sidered it with that solemn regard to the principles of the consti- tution which the day was calculated to inspire, and come to the conclusion that it ought not to become a law, I herewith return it to the Senate, in which it originated, with my objec- tions. A Bank of the United States is, in many respects, conveni- ent for the Government, and useful to the people. Entertain- ing this opinion, and deeply impressed with the belief that some of the powers and privileges possessed by the existing Bank are unauthorized by the constitution, subversive of the rights of the States, and dangerous to the liberties of the peo- ple, I felt it my duty, at an early period of my administration, to call the attention of Congress to the practicability of organ- izing an institution combining all its advantages, and obviating these objections. I sincerely regret that, in the act before me I can perceive none of those modifications of the Bank char- ter which are necessary, in my opinion, to make it compatible with justice, with sound poUcy, or with the Constitution of our countr)^ The present corporate body, denominated the President, Di- rectors, and Company of the Bank of the United States, will have existed, at the time this act is intended to take effect, twenty years. It enjoys an exclusive privilege of banking VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 175 under tlic authority of the General Government, a monopoly of its favor and support, and, as a necessary consequence, al- most a monopoly of the foreign and domestic exchange. The powers, privileges, and favors bestowed upon it in the origi- nal charter, by increasing the value of the stock far above its par value, operated as a gratuity of many millions to the stockholders. An apology may be found for the failure to guard against this result, in the consideration that the eflect of the original act of incorporation could not be certainly foreseen at the time of its passage. The act before me proposes another gra- tuity to the holders of the same stock, and in many cases to the same men, of at least seven millions more. This donation finds no apology in any uncertainty as to the effect of the act. On all hands, it is conceded, that its passage will increase, at least twenty or thirty per cent more, the market price of the stock, subject to the payment of the annuity of $200,000 per year, secured by the act; thus adding in a moment, one-fourth to its par value. It is not our own citizens only who are to receive the bounty of our Government. More than eight millions of the stock of this Bank are held by foreigners. By this act the American republic proposes virtually to make them a present of some millions of dollars. For these gratu- ities to foreigners, and to some of our own opulent citizens, the act secures no equivalent whatever. Thej' are the cer- tain gains of the present stockholders, under the operation of this act, after making full allowance for the payment of the bonus. Every monopoly, and all exclusive privileges, are granted at the expense of the public, which ought to receive a fair equiv- alent. The many millions which this act proposes to bestow on the stockholders of the existing Bank, must come, directly or indirectly, out of the earnings of the American people. It is due to them, therefore, if their Government sell monopolies and exclusive privileges, that they should at least exact for them as much as they are worth in open market. The value of the monopoly in this case may be correctly ascertained. The twenty-eight millions of stock would probablj- be at an advance of fifty per cent, and command in market at least forty 176 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. two millions of dollars, subject to the payment of the present loans. The present value of the monopoly, therefore, is seven- teen millions of dollars, and this the act proposes to sell for three millions, payable in Jifteen annual installments, $200,- 000 each. It is not conceivable hpw the present stockholders can have any claim to the special favor of the Government. The pres- ent corporation has enjoyed its monopoly during the period stipulated in the original contract. If we must have such a corporation, why should not the Government sell out the whole stock, and thus secure to the people the full market val- ue of the privileges granted ? Why should not Congress cre- ate and sell the twenty-eight million.sof stock, incorporating the purchasers with all the powers and privileges secured in this act, and putting the premium upon the sales into the Treasury.' But this act does not permit competition in the purchase of this monopoly. It seems to be predicated on the erroneous idea, that the present stockholders have a prescriptive right, not only to the favor, but to the bounty of the Government. It appears that more than a fourth part of the stock is held by for- eigners, and the residue is held by a few hundred of our citi- zens, chiefly of the richest class ; for their benefit does this act exclude the whole American people from competition in the purchase of this monopoly, and dispose of it for many millions less than it is worth. This seems the less excusable, because some of our citizens, not now stockholders, petitioned that the door of competition might be opened, and offered to take a char- ter on terms much more favorable to the government and coun- But this proposition, although made by men whose aggre- gate wealth is believed to be equal to all the private stock in the existing Bank, has been set aside, and the bounty of our Government is proposed to be again bestowed on the few who have been fortunate enough to secure the stock, and, at this moment, wield the power of the existing institution. I cannot perceive the justice or policy of this course. If our Govern- ment must sell monopolies, it would seem to be its duty to take nothing less than their full value ; and if gratuities must be made once in fifteen or twenty years, let them not be be- VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 177 Stowed on the subjects of a foreign government, nor upon a designated or favorable class of men in our own country. It is but justice and good policy, as far as the nature of the case will admit, to conline our favors to our own fellow citizens, and let each in his turn enjoy an opportunity to pfofit by our bounty. In the bearings of the act before me upon these points, I find ample reasons why it .should not become a law. It has been urged as an argument in favor of re-chartering the present Bank, that calling in its loans will produce great embarrassment and distress. The time allowed to close its concerns is ample, and if it has been well managed its pres- sure will be light, and lieavy only in case its management has been bad. If, therefore, it shall produce distress, the fault will be its own, and it would furnish a reason against renew- ing a power which has been so obviously abused. But will there ever be a time when this reason will be less powerful .' To acknowledge its force is to admit that the Bank ought to be perpetual, and as a consequence, the present stockholders, and those inheriting their rights, as successors, be established a privileged order, clothed both with great political power, and enjoying immense pecuniary advantages from tlieJr connection with the government. The modifications of the existing charter, proposed by this act, are not such, in my view, as make it consistent with the rights of the States, or the liberties of the people. The quali- fication vi the right of the Bank to hold real estate, the limi- tation of its power to establish branches, and the power re- served to Congress to forbid the circulation of small notes, are restrictions comparatively of little value or importance. All the objectionable principles of the existing corporation, and most of its odious features, are retained without alleviation. The fourth section provides " that the notes or bills of the said corporation, although the same be on the faces thereof, respectively made payable at one place onlj-, shall, neverthe- less, be received by the said corporation at the Bank, or at any of the offices of discount and deposite thereof, if tendered in liquidation or payment of any balance or balances due to said corporation, or to such office of discount and deposite from any otlier incorporated Bank." This provision secures to the 12 178 LIFE OF AXDREAV JACKSON. State Banks a legal privilege in the Bank of the United State?, which is withheld from all private citizens. If a State Bank in Philadelphia owe the Bank of the United States, and have notes issued by the St. Louis Branch, it can pay the debt with those notes; but if a merchant, mechanic, or other private citizen, be in like circumstances, he cannot by law pay his debt with those notes, but must sell them at a discount, or send them, to St. Louis to be cashed. This boon conceded to the State Banks, though not unjust in itself, is most odious, because it does not measure out equal justice to the high a,nd the low, the rich and the poor. To the extent of its practical effect, it is a bond of union among the banking establishments of the nation, erecting them into an interest separate from that of the people, and its ne- cessary tendency is to unite the Bank of the L'''niled States and the State Banks in any measure whicli may be thought conducive to their common interest. The ninth section of the act recognizes principles of worse tendency than any provision of the present charter. It enacts that the " Cashier of the Bank shall annually re- port to the Secretary of the Treasury the names of all stock- holders who are not resident citizens of the United States ; and on the application of the Treasurer of any State, shall make out, and transmit to such Treasurer a list of stockholders re- siding in, or citizens of such St-ate, with the amount owned by each." Although this provision, taken in connection with a decis- ion of the Supreme Court, surrenders, by its silence, the right of the States to tax the banking institutions created by this corporation, under the name of branches, throughout the Un- ion, it is evidently intended to be construed as a concession of their right to tax that portion of the stock which may be held by their own citizens and residents. In this light, if the act becomes a law, it will be understood by the States, who will probably proceed to levy a tax equal to that paid upon the stock of banks incorporated by themselves. In some States that tax is now one per cent, either on the capital or on the shares; and that maybe assumed as the amount which all citizens or resident stockholders would be taxed under the op- VETO OF THE BAXK BILL. j-g eration Of this act As it is only the stock held in the State, and not that employed within them, which would be sub ea o taxation and as the names of foreign stockholders are no o be reported o the treasurers of the States, it is obvious tha U e stock held by them will be exempt from this burden Their annual profits will, therefore, be increased one pe" ce,"t more than the citizen stockholders; and as the annual divi- dends o the Bank may be safely estimated at seven per cent, the stock will be worth ten or fifteen per cent more to for^ eigners than to citizens of the United States. To appreciate he effect which this state of things will produce, we must tne tJank of the United States. By documents submitted to Congress at the present session ^t appears that, on the 1st of January, 1832, of the 28 000000 nl private stock, in the corporation, 8,405,500 were held bv oreigners, most y of Great Britain. The amount of stock held in the nine Western States is 140,200 dollars; and in the and Middle States about 13,522,000 dollars. The profits of t he Bank in 1831, as shown in a statement of Congress, were ^^cstern States about 1,640,048 dollars; in the four Southern Sta es about 352,507 dollars; and in the Middle and Eastern States about 1,463,041 dollars. As little stock is held in the V\ e.t. It IS obvious that the debt of the people in that section to the Bank is principally a debt to the Eastern and foreign ^stockholders; that the interest they pay upon it is carriedS the Eastern States and into Europe; and that it is a burden upon their industry, and a drain of their currency Aich no t" '^Tme^t^'^b""/'""";^'"^"^^ '^' occ'a'sional'diV tie,.. To meet this burden, and equalize the exchano-e one nj .ons ot the Bank, the amount of 'specie drawntom thos^ States, through its branches, within the last two year'as .^nov>n by it.s official report, was about 6,000,000 dollars More than half a million of this amount does n;t stop in the Ka. er„ ,tates, but pa.sses on to Europe, to pay the divicfends to the loreign stockholders. In the principle of taxation re' cognized by this act, the Western States had no adequa com- 180 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. pensatiou for this perpetual burden or their industry, and drain upon their currency. The Branch Bank at Mobile made, last year, 95,140 dollars ; yet, under the provisions of this act, the State of Alabama can raise no revenue from these profitable op- erations, because not a share of the stock is held by any of her citizens. Mississippi and INIissouriare in the same condi- tion in relation to the branches at Natchez and St. Louis, and such, in a greater or less degree, is the condition of every Western State. The tendency of the plan of taxation which this act proposes, will be to place the whole United States in the same relation to foreign countries which the Western States bear to the Eastern. AVhen, by a tax on resident stock- holders, the stock of this Bank is made worth ten or fifteen per cent more to foreigners than to residents, most of it will inevitably leave the country. Thus will this provision, in its practical effect, deprive the Eastern as well as the Southern and Western States of the means of raising a revenue from the extension of business and the great profits of this institution. It will make the American people debtors to aliens in nearly the whole amount due to this Bank, and send across the Atlantic from two to five millions of specie every year, to pay the Bank dividends. In another of its bearings, this provision is fraught with danger. Of the twenty-five directors of this Bank, five are chosen by the Government, and twenty by the citizen stock- holders. " From all voice in these elections the foreign stock- holders are excluded by the charter. In proportion, therefore, as the stock is transferred to foreign holders, the extent of suf- frage in the choice of directors is curtailed. Already is almost a third of the stock in foreign hands, and not represented in elections. It is constantly passing out of the country, and this act will accelerate its departure. The entire control of the institution would necessarily fall into the hands of a few citizen stockholders, and the ease with which the object would be accomplished, would be a temptation to designing men, to secure that control in their own hands, by monopolizing the re- maining stock. There is danger that a president and directors would then be able to elect themselves from year to year, anc without responsibility or control, manage the whole concern! VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 181 of the Bank during the existence of the charter. It is easy to conceive that great evils to our country and its institutions might flow from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men, irresponsible to the people. Is there no danger to our liberty and independence in a Bank, that, in its nature, has so little to bind it to our country .' The President of the Bank has told us that most of the State Banks exist by its forbearance. Should its influence become concentrated, as it may under the operation of such an act as this, in the hands of a self-elected Directory, whose interests are identified with those of the foreign stockholder, will there not be cause to tremble for the purity of our elections in peace, and for the independence of our country in war.' Their pow- er would be great whenever they might choose to exert it ; hut if this monopol)- were regularly renewed every fifteen or twenty years, on terms proposed by themselves, they might seldom in peace put forth their strength to influence elections or control the affairs of the nation; but if any private citizen or public functionary should interpose to curtail its powers, or prevent a renewal of its privileges, it cannot be doubted that he would be made to feel its influence. Should the stock of the Bank principally pass into the hands of the subjects of a foreign country, and we should unfortu- jiately become involved in a war with that country, what would be our condition .' Of the course which would be pursued by a Bank almost wholly owned by the subjects of a foreign pow- er, and managed by those whose interests, if not afreciions, would run in the same direction, there can be no doubt. All its operations within would be in aid of the hostile fleets and armies without; controlling our currency, receiving our public moneys, and holding thousands of our citizens in dependence, it would be more formidable and dangerous than the naval and military power of the enemy. If we must have a Bank with private stockholders, every consideration of sound policy, and every impulse of American feeling, admonishes that it should be purely American. Its stockholders should be composed exclusively of our own citi- zens, who at least ought to be friendly to our Government, and willing to support it in times of dilliculty and danger. So 182 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. aLundant is domestic capital, that competition in subscribing for the stock of local banks has recently led almost to riots. To a Bank exclusively of American stockholders, possessing the powers and privileges granted by this act, subscriptions for two hundred millions of dollars could be readily obtained. Instead of sending abroad the slock of the bank, in which the Government must deposit its funds, and on which it must rely to sustain its credit in times of emergency, it would rather seem to be expedient to prohibit its sale to aliens, under penal- ty of absolute forfeiture. It is maintained by the advocates of the Bank, that its constitu- tionality in all its features, ought to be considered as settled by precedent, and by the decision of the Supreme Court. To this conclusion I cannot assent. JMere precedent is a dangerous source of authority, and should not be regarded as deciding ques- tions of constitutional power, except where the acquiescence of the people and the States can be considered as well settled. So far from this being the case on this subject, an argument against the Bank might be based on precedent. One Congress, in 1791, decided in favor of a Bank; another, in 1811, deci- ded against it. One Congress, in 1815, decided against a Bank; another in 1816, decided in its favor. Prior to the present Congress, therefore, the precedents drawn from that source were equal. If we resort to the States, the expressions of legislative, judicial, and executive opinions against the Bank have been probably, to those in its favor, as four to one. There is nothing in precedent therefore, which, if its authority were admitted, ought to weigh in favor of the act before me. If the opinion of the Supreme Court covered the whole ground of this act, it ought not to control the co-ordinate au- thorities of this Government. The Congress, the Executive, and the Court, must eacji for itself be guided by its own opin- ion of the Constitution. Each public officer who takes an oath to support the Constitution, swears that he will support it as he understands it, and not as it is understood by others. It is as much the duty of the House of Representatives, of the Senate, and of the President, to decide upon the constitu- tionality of any bill or resolution which may be presented to them for passage or approval, as it is of the Supreme Judges, VETO OF THE BANK EII.L. 183 when it may be brought before them for judicial Jeclsion. The opinion of the Judges has no more authority over Con- gress than the opinion of Congress lias over the Judges ; and on that point the President is independent of both. The au- thority of the Supreme Court must not, therefore, be permit- ted to control the Congress or the Executive, when acting in their legislative capacities, but to have only such influence as the force of their reasoning may deserve. But, in the case relied upon, the Supreme Court have not decided that all the features of this corporation are compatible with tlie constitution. It is true that the Court have said that the law incorporating the bank is a constitutional exercise of power by Congress. But taking into viev,- the whole opinion of the Court, and the reasoning by which they have come to that conclusion, I understand them to have decided that, inas- much as a Bank is an appropriate means for carrying into ef- fect the enumerated powers of the General Goyernment, there- fore the law incorporating it is in accordance with that pro- vision of the constitution which declares that Congress shall have power " to make all laws which shall be necessary and jjroper for carrying those powers into execution." Having satisfied themselves that the word " necessary," in the consti- tution, means " needful," "requisite," "essential," " conducive to,'' and that " a Bank" is a convenient, a useful, and essential instrument in the prosecution of the Government's " fiscal op- erations," they conclude that to " use one must be within the discretion of Congress ;" ana that "the act to incorporate the Bank of the United States, is a law made in pursuance of the Constitution." " But," say they, " where the law is not pro- hibited, and is really calculated to effect any of the objects entrusted to the Government, to undertake here to inquire into the degree of its necessity, would be^ to pass the line which circumscribes the judicial department, and to tread on legisla- tive ground." The principle here affirmed is, that " the degree of its ne- cessity," involving all the details of a Banking institution, is a question exclusively for legislative consideration. A Bank is constitutional; but it is the province of the Legislature to determine whether this or that particular power, privilege, or 184 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. exemption, is " necessary and proper" to enable the Bank to> discharge its duties to the Government, and from their deci- sion there is no appeal to the courts of justice. Under the decision of the Supreme Court, therefore, it is the exclusive province of Congress and the President to decide, whether the particular features of this act are " necessary and proper," in order to enable the Bank to perform conveniently and effi- ciently the public duties assigned to it as a fiscal agent, and therefore constitutional ; or unnecessary and improjyer, and therefore unconstitutional. Without commenting on the general principle affirmed by the Supreme Court, let us examine the details of this act, in accordance with the rule of legislative action which they haA'e- laid down. It will be found that many of the powers and privileges conferred on it cannot be supposed necessary for the purpose for v^^hich it is proposed to be created, and are- not therefore means necessary to attain the end in view, and consequently not justified by the Constitution. The original act of incorporation, section twenty-one, enacts " that no other Bank shall be established by any future law of the United States, during the continuance of the corporation hereby created, for which the faith of the United States is hereby pledged : Provided, Congress may renew existing- charters for Banks within the District of Columbia, not in- creasing the capital thereof, and may also establish any other Bank or Banks in said District, with capitals not exceeding in the A^'hole six millions of dollars, if they shall deem it expe- dient." This provision is continued in force, by the act be- fore me, fifteen years from the 3d of March, 1836. If Congress possessed the power to establish one Bank, they had power to establish more than one, if, in their opin- ion, two or more Banks had been " necessary" to facilitate the execution of the powers delegated to them by the Consti- tution. If they possessed the power to establish a second Bank, it was a power derived from the Constitution, to be exer- cised from time to time, and at any time when the interests of the country or the emergencies of the government might make- it expedient. It was possessed by one Congress as well as; another, and by all Congresses alike, and alike at every ses- VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 185 sioii. But the Congress of 1816 have taken it away from their successors for twenty years, and the Congress of 1832 proposes to abolish it for fifteen years more. It cannot be " necessary" or " proper" for Congress to barter away, or divest themselves of any of the powers vested in them by the Constitution, to be exercised for the public good. It is not " necessary" to the efficiency of the Bank, nor is it " proper" in relation to themselves and their successors. They may properly use the discretion vested in them, but they may not limit the discretion of their successors. This restriction on themselves, and grant of a monopoly to the Bank, is there- fore unconstitutional. In another point of view, this provision is a pul])able at- temj)t to amend the Constitution by an act of legislation. The Constitution declares that " the Congress shall have pow- er" to exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over the District of Columbia. Its constitutional power, there- fore, to establish banks in the District of Columbia, and increase their capital at will, is unlimited and uncontrollable by any other power than that which gave authority to the Constitu- tion. Yet this act declares that Congress shall not increase the capital of existing banks, nor create other banks with capitals exceeding in the whole six millions of dollars. The Constitution declares that Congress shall have power to exer- cise exclusive legislation over this District, " in all cases what- soever ;"' and this act declares they shall not. Which is the supreme law of the land .' This provision cannot be " neces- sary ," ox " proper," ov constitutional, unless the absurdity be admitted, that whenever it be " necessary and proper," in the opinion of Congress, they have a right to barter away one portion of the powers vested in them by the Constitution, as a means of executing the rest. On two subjects only does the Constitution recognize in Congress the power to grant exclusive privileges or monopo- lies. It declares that " Congress shall have power to pro- mote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to iheir respective writings and discoveries." Out of this express delegation of power, have grown our laws of patents and 186 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. copy-rights. As the Constitution expressly delegates to Con- gress the power to grant exclusive privileges in these cases, as the means of executing the substantive power " to promote the progress of science and useful arts," it is consistent with the fair rules of construction to conclude, that such a power Avas not intended to be granted as a means of accomplishing any other end. On every other subject which comes within the scope of congressional power, there is an ever-living dis- cretion in the use of proper means, which cannot be restricted or abolished without an amendment of the Constitution. Every act of Congress, therefore, which attempts, by grants of mo- nopolies, or sale of exclusive privileges for a limited time, or a time without limit, to restrict or extinguish its own discretion in the choice of means to execute its delegated powers, is equivalent to a legislative amendment of the Constitution, and palpably unconstitutional. This act authorizes and encourages transfers of its stock to foreigners, and grants them an exemption from all State and national taxation. So far from being " necessary and proper' that the Bank should possess this power, to make it a safe and efficient agent of the Governm.ent in its fiscal operations, it is calculated to convert the Bank of the United States into a foreign bank, to impoverish our people in time of peace, to disseminate a foreign influence through every section of the Republic, and in war to endanger our independence. The several States reserved the power, at the formation of the Constitution, to regulate and control titles and transfers of real property; and most, if not all of them, have laws dis- quahfying aliens from acquiring or holding lands within their limits. But this act, in disregard of the undoubted right of the States to prescribe such disqualifications, gives to aliens, stockholders in this Bank, an interest and title, as members of the corporation, to all the real property it may acquire within any of the States of this Union. This privilege granted to aliens is not " necessary" to enable the Bank to perform its public duties, nor in any sense " proper," because it is vitally subversive of the rights of the States. The Government of the United States have no constitution- al power to purchase lands within the States, except " for the VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 187 erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock yarJs, and other needful buildings," and even for these objects, only "by the consent of the Legislature of the State in which the same shall be." By making themselves stockholders in the Bank, and granting to the corporation the power to purchase lands for other purposes, they assume a power not granted in the Con- stitution, and grant to others what they do not themselves possess. It is not necessary to the receiving, safe-keeping, or transmission of the funds of Government, that the Bank should possess this power, and it is not proper that Congress should thus enlarge the powers delegated to them in the Constitution. The old Bank of the United States possessed a capital of only eleven millions of dollars, which was found fully suffi- cient to enable it, with despatch and safety, to perform all the functions required of it by the Government. The capital of the present Bank is thirty-iive millions of dollars, at least twenty-four more than experience has proved to be necessary to enable a bank to perform its public functions. The public debt which existed during the period of the old Bank, and on the establishment of the new, has been nearly paid olT, and our revenue will soon be reduced. This increase of capital is, therefore, not for public, but for private purposes. The Government is the only " proper" judge where its agents should reside and keep their offices, because it best knows wliere their presence will be " necessary." It cannot, there- fore, be " necessary" or " proper" to authorize the Bank to locate branches where it pleases, to perform the public ser- vice, without consulting the Government, and contrary to its will. The principle laid down by the Supreme Court, con- cedes that Congress cannot establish a Bank for the purpose of private speculation and gain, but only as a means of exe- cuting the delegated powers of the General Government. By tlie same principle, a Branch Bank cannot constitutionally be established for other than public purposes. The power which this act gives to establish two branches in any State, without the injunction or request of the Government, and for other than public purposes, is not " necessary" to the due exe- cution of the powers delegated to Congress. The bonus which is exacted from the Bank, is a confession, 188 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. upon the face of the act, that the powers granted b)' it are greater than are " necessary" to its character as a fiscal agent. The Government does not tax its officers and agents for the privileges of serving it. The bonus of a million and a half, required by the original charter, and that of three millions pro- posed by this act, are not exacted for the privilege of giving "the necessary facilities for transferring the public funds from place to place, within the United States or the territories there- of, and for distributing the same in paj'ment of the public creditors, witliout charging commission, or claiming allow- ance on account of the dilFerence of exchange," as required by the act of incorporation, but for something more benelicial to the stockholders. The original act declares that it (the bo- nus) is granted " in consideration of the exclusive privileges and benefits conferred by this act upon said Bank ;" and the act before me declares it to be " in consideration of the exclu- sive benefits and privileges continued by this act to the said corporation for fifteen years aforesaid." It is, therefore, for " exclusive privileges and benefits," conferred for their own use and emolument, and not for the advantage of the Govern- ment, that a bonus is exacted. These surplus powers, for which the Bank is required to pay, cannot be " necessary," to make it the fiscal agent of the treasury. If they were, the ex- action of a bonus for them would not be " proper." It is maintained by some, that the Bank is a means of execu- ting the constitutional power "to coin monej^ and regulate the value thereof." Congress have established a mint to coin money, and passed laws to regulate the value thereof. The money so coined, with its value so regulated, and such for- eign coins as Congress may adopt, are the only currency known to the Constitution. But if they have other power to regu- late the currency, it was conferred to be exercised by them- selves, and not to be transferred to a corporation. If the Bank he established for that purpose, with a charter unalterable without its consent, Congress have parted with their power for a term of years, during which the Constitution is a dead letter. It is neither necessary nor proper to transfer its legis- lative power to such a Bank, and therefore unconstitutional. By its silence, considered in connection with the decision of VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 189 the Supveme Court, in the case of McCulloch against the State of Maryland, this act takes from the States the power to tax a portion of the banking business carried on within their Hm- its, in subversion of one of the strongest barriers which secu- red them against federal encroachments. Banking, like farm- ing, manufacturing, or any other occupation or profession, is a business, ihc right to follow which is not originally derived from the laws. Every citizen, and every company of citizens, in all our States, possessed the right until the State Legislatures deemed it good policy to prohibit private banking by law. If the prohibitory State laws were now repealed, every citizen would again possess the right. The State banks are a quali- fied restoration of the right which has been taken away by the laws against banking, guarded by such provisions and limitations as, in the opinion of the State Legislatures, the public interest requires. These corporations, unless there be an exemption in their charter, are, like private bankers and banking companies, subject to State taxation. The man- ner in which these taxes shall be laid, depends wholly on le- gislative discretion. It may be upon the bank, upon the stock, upon the profits, or in any other mode which the sovereign power shall will. Upon the formation of the Constitution, the States guarded their taxing power with peculiar jealousy. They surrendered it only as it regards imports and exports. In relation to every other object within their jurisdiction, whether persons, pro- perty, business or professions, it was secured in as ample a manner as it was before possessed. All persons, though Uni- ted States oHiccrs, are liable to a poll tax by the States with- in which they reside; the lands of the United States are liable to the usual land tax, except in the new States, from whom agreements that they will not tax unsold lands, are exacted when they arc admitted into the Union : horses, wagons, any beasts, or vehicles, tools, or property, belonging to private citi- zens, though employed in the service of the United States, are subject to State taxation. Every private business, wheth- er carried on by an officer of the General Government or not, whether it be mixed with public concerns or not, even if it be 190 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. carried on by tlie Government of the United States itself, sep- arately or in partnership, falls within the scope of the taxing power of the State. Nothing comes more fully within it than banks and the business of banking, by whomsoever instituted and carried on. Over this whole subject-matter, it is just as ab- solute, unlimited, and uncontrollable, as if the Constitution had never been adopted, because, in the formation of that instru- ment it was reserved without qualilication. The principle is conceded, that the States cannot rightfully tax the operations of the General Government. They cannot tax the money of the Government deposited in the State banks, nor the agency of those banks in remitting it; but will any man maintain that their mere selection to perform this pub- lic service for the General Government, would exempt the State banks, and their ordinary business, from State taxation.' Had the United States, instead of establising a Bank at Phil- adelphia, employed a private banker to keep and transmit their funds, would it have deprived Pennsylvania of the right to tax his bank and his usual banking operations .' It will not be pretended. Upon what principle, then, are the banking establishments of the Bank of the United States, and their usual banking operations, to be exempted from taxation .' It is not their pubHc agency, or the deposits of the Governnrent, which the States claim a right to tax, but their banks and their banking powers, instituted and exercised within State jurisdiction for their private emolument — those powers and privileges for which they pay a bonus, a.nd which the States tax in their own banks. The exercise of these powers within a State, no mat- ter by whom or under what authorit}", whether by private cit- izens in their original right, by corporate bodies created by the States, by foreigners, or the agents of foreign Governments located within their limits, forms a legitimate object of State taxation. From this, and like sources, from the persons, pro- perty, and business, that are found residing, located, or carried on, under their jurisdiction, must the States, since the surren- der of their right to raise a revenue from imports and exports, draw all the money necessary for the support of their Govern- ments, and the maintenance of their independence. There is VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 191 110 more appropriate subject of taxation tlian banks, banking, and bank stocks, and none to which tlie States ought more l)ertinaciously to cling. It cannot be necessary to the character of the Bank, as a fiscal agent of the Government, that its private business should be exempted from that taxation to which all the State banks are liable; nor can I conceive it "proper" that the substantive and most essential powers reserved by the States shall be thus attacked and annihilated as a means of executing the powers delegated to the General Government. It may be safely assumed that none of those sages who had an agency in forming or adopting our Constitution, ever ima- gined that any portion of the taxing power of the States, not j)rohibited by them, nor delegated to Congress, was to be swept away and annihilated, as a means of executing certain pow- ers delegated to Congress. If our power over means is so absolute, that the Supreme Court will not call in question the constitutionality of an act of Congress, the subject of which is "not prohibited, and is really calculated to effect any of the objects entrusted to the (Government," although, as in the case before me, it takes away powers expressly granted to Congress, and rights scru- pulously reserved to the States, it becomes us to proceed in our legislation with the utmost caution. Though not directly, our own powers, and the rights of the States, may be indi- rectly legi.slated away in the use of means to execute sub- stantive powers. We may not enact that Congress shall not have the power of exclusive legislation over the District of Columbia ; but we may pledge the faith of the United States that, as a means of executing other powers, it shall not be exercised for twenty years, or forever ! We may not pass an act prohiI)iting the States to tax the banking business carried on within their limits; but we may, as a means of executing our powers over other objects, place that business in the hands of our agents, and then declare it exempt from State taxation in their hands ! Thus may our own powers, and the rights of the States, which we cannot directly curtail or invade, be frittered away and e.xtinguished in the use of means employed by us to execute other powers. That a Bank of 192 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. the United States, competent to all duties which may be required by the Government, might be so organized as not to infringe on our own delegated powers, or the reserved rights of the States, I do not entertain a doubt. Had the Executive been called upon to furnish the pr«)ject of such an institution, the duty would have been cheerfully performed In the ab- sence of such a call, it was obviously proper that he should confine himself to pointing out those prominent features in the act presented, which, in his opinion, make it incompatible with the Constitution, and sound policy. A general discus- sion will now take place, eliciting new light, and settling im- portant principles ; and a new Congress, elected in the midst of such discussion, and furnishing an equal representation of the people, according to the last census, will bear to the Capi- tol the verdict of public opinion, and I doubt not bring this important question to a satisfactory result. Under such circumstances, the Bank comes forward and asks a renewal of its charter for a term of fifteen years, upon con- ditions which not only operate as a gratuity to the stockhold- ers of many millions of dollars, but will sanction any abuses, and legalize any encroachments. Suspicions are entertained, and charges are made, of gross abuse and violation of its charter. An investigation, unwil- lingly conceded, and so restricted in time as necessarily to make it incomplete and unsatisfactory, discloses enough to excite suspicion and alarm. In the practices of the principal Bank, partially unveiled in the absence of important witnesses, and in numerous charges confidently made, and as yet wholly uninvestigated, there was enough to induce a majority of the Committee of Investigation, a committee which was selected from the most able and honorable members of the House of Representatives, to recommend a suspension of further action upon the bill, and a prosecution of the inquiry. As the char- ter had yet four years to run, and as a renewal now was not necessary to the successful prosecution of its business, it was to have been expected that the Bank itself, conscious of its purity, and proud of its character, would have withdrawn its application for the present, and demanded the severest scrutiny into all its transactions. In their declining to do so, there VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 193 seems to be an additional reason why the functionaries of the Government should proceed with less haste, and more caution, in the renewal of their monopoly. The Bank is professedly establi.shed as an agent of the executive branches of the Government, and its con.stitution- ality is maintained on that ground. Neither upon the pro- priety of present action, nor upon the provisions of this act, Avas the Executive consulted. It has had no opportunity to say, that it neither needs nor wants an agent clothed with such powers, and favored by such exemptions. There is nothing in its legitimate functions which malvcs it necessary or proper. Whatever interest or influence, whether public or private, has given birth to this act, it cannot be found either in the wishes or necessities of the Executive Department, by which present action is deemed premature, and the powers conferred upon its agent not only unnecessary, but dangerous to the Government and country. It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of Government to their seltisli purposes. Dis- tinctions in society will always e.xist under every just go- vernment. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth, cannot be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoy- ment of the gifts of Heaven, and the fruits of superior indus- try, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to pro- tection by law. But when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions — to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges — to make the rich richer, and the potent more powerful — the humble members of society, the farmers, mechanics and laborers, who have nei- ther the time nor the means of securing the like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government. There are no necessary evils in Government. Its evils exist only in its abuses. If it would confine itself to equal protection, and, as Heaven does its rains, shower its fa- vors alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unqualified blessing. In the act before me there seems to be a wide and unnecessary departure from these just principles. Nor is our government to be maintained, or our Union pre- 13 194 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. served, by invasions of the rights and powers of the several- States. In thus attempting to make our General Government strong, we make it weak. Its true strength consists in leav- ing individuals and States, as much as possible, to themselves ; in making itself felt, not in its power, but in its beneficence — not in its control, but in its protection — not in binding the States more closely to the centre, but leaving each to move^ unobstructed, in its proper orbit. Experience should teach us wisdom. Most of the diflicul- ties our Government now encounters, and most of the dangers which impend over our Union, have sprung from an abandon- ment of the legitimate objects of Government by our national legislation, and the adoption of such principles as are embo- died in this act. Many of our rich men have not been con- tent with equal protection and equal benefits, but have be- sought us to make them richer by act of Congress. By at- tempting to gratify their desires, we have, in the results of out- legislation, arrayed section against section, interest against in- terest, and man against man, in a fearful commotion, which threatens to shake the foundations of our Union. It is time to pause in our career, to review our principles, and, if pos- sible, revive that devoted spirit of patriotism, and spirit of compromise, which distinguished the sages of the revolution, and the fathers of our Union. If we cannot, at once, in jus- tice to interests vested under improvident legislation, make our Government what it ought to be, we can, at least, take a stand against all new grants of monopolies and exclusive privileges, against any prostitution of our Government to tire advancement of the few at the expense of the many, and in favor of compro- mise and gradual reform in our code of laws and system of po- litical economy. I have now done my duty to my country. If sustained by my fellow-citizens, I shall be grateful and happy : if not, I shall find in the motives which impel me, ample grounds for contentment and peace. In the difficulties which surround us, and the dangers which threaten our institutions, there is cause for neither dismay or alarm. For relief and deliverance, let us firmly rely on that kind Providence w^hich, I am sure, watch- es with peculiar care over the destinies of our republic, and HIS PROTEST TO THE SEXATE 195 on the intelligence and wisdom of our countrymen. Through His abundant goodness and their patriotic devotion, our liberty and our Union will be preserved. ANDREW JACKSON. W.\sHiNGT0N', July 10, 1832. PROTEST TO THE SENATE, When the Whig majority in the United States Senate at^ tempted to pass judgment on General Jackson, for his action in removing the Deposits from the United States Bank, and to record a sentence against him, which, if the Senate had been acting in the only capacity it could constitutionally act — as the Court for the trial of Impeachments brought by the House of Representatives — must have resulted in his remo- val from office, the President rebuked the usurpation and de- fended himself against the accusations of the Senate in a Pro- test, the most eloquent of all the able State papers of his ad- ministration. In the following extract, he vindicates the pu- rity of his motives, and gives his idea of a true republic, such " as he understood it," and such as the American people un- derstand and hope to realize it : " The resolution of the Senate contains an imputation oil my private as well as upon my public character ; and as it must stand forever on their journals, I cannot close this sub- stitute for that defense which I have not been allowed to pre- sent in the ordinary form, without remarking, that I have lived in vain, if it be necessary to enter into a formal vindication of my character and purposes from such an imputation. In vain do I bear upon my person, enduring memorials of that contest in which American liberty was purchased — in vain have I since pe- riled property, fame and life, in defense of the rights and priv- ileges so dearly bought — in vain am I now, without a personal aspiration, or the hope of individual advantage, encountering responsibilities and dangers, from which, by mere inactivity in relation to a single point, I might have been exempt — if any 196 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSOX. serious doubts can be entertained as to the purity of my pur- poses and motives. If I had been ambitious, I should have sought an alliance with that powerful institution, which even now aspires to no divided empire. If I had been venal, I should have sold myself to its designs — had I preferred person- al comfort and official ease to the performance of my arduous duty, I should have ceased to molest it. In the history, of con- querors and usurpers, never, in the fire of youth, nor in the vigor of manhood, could I find an attraction to lure me from the path of duty : and now, I shall scarcely find an induce- ment to commence their career of ambition, when gray hairs and a decaying frame, instead of inviting to toil and battle, call me to the contemplation of other worlds, where conquer- ors cease to be honored, and usurpers expiate their crimes. " The only ambition I can feel is to acquit myself to Him to whom I must soon render an account of my .stewardship ; to serve my fellow-men, and live respected and honored in the history of my country-. No: the ambition which leads me on, is an an.xious desire and a fixed determinaton, to return to the people, unimpaired, the sacred trust they have confided to my charge — to heal the wounds of the Constitution and preserve it from fuither violation; to persuade my countrymen, so far as 1 may, that it is not in a splendid Government, supported by powerful monopolies and aristocratic establishments, that they will find happiness, or their liberties protection ; but in a plain system, void of pomp — protecting all, and granting favors to none — dispensing its blessings like the dews of Heaven, un- seen and unfelt, save in the freshness and beauty they contrib- ute to produce. It is such a Government that the genius of our People requires — such an one only under which our States may remain for ages to corne, united, prosperous and free. If the Almighty Being who has hitherto sustained and protected me, will but vouchsafe to make my feeble powers instrument- al to such a result, I shall anticipate with pleasure the place to be assigned me in the hi.story of my country, and die contented with the belief, that I have contributed, in some small degree, to increase the value and prolong the duration of American Liberty." PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS. 197 PRE:?IDENT JACKSON'S PROCLAMATION TO THE NULI.IFIERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA. WnF-UEAt!, a Convention assembled in the State of South Carolina, having passed an ordinance by vrhich ihey declare, " That the several acts and parts of acts of the Congress of the United States, purporting to be laws for the imposing of duties and imposts on the importation of foreign commodities, and now having actual operation and eflect within the United Slates, and more especially," two acts for the same purpose, passed on the 29th of May, 18'2S, and on the 14th of July, 1S32, "are unauthorized by the Constitution of the United States, and violate the true meaning and intent thereof, and are null and void, and no law,"' nor binding on the citizens of that State or its officers: and by the said ordinance, it is fur- ther declared to be unlawful for any of the constituted authori- ties of the State or of the United States, to enforce the payment of the duties imposed by the said acts within the same State, and that it is the duty of the Legislature to pass such laws as may be necessary to give full eflect to the said ordinance : And whereas, by the said ordinance, it is further ordained, that in no case of law or equity, decided in the courts of said State, wherein shall be drawn in question the validity of the said ordinance, or of the acts of the Legislature that may be passed to give it eflect, or of the said laws of the United States, no appeal shall be allowed to the Supreme Court of the United States, nor shall any copy of the record be permitted or allowed for that purpose, and that any person attempting to take such appeal shall be punished as for a contempt of court : And, finally, the said ordinance declares, that the people of South Carolina will maintain the said ordinance at every hazard ; and that they will consider the passage of any act of Consjress abolishing or closing the ports of the said State, or otherwise obstructing the free ingress or egress of vessels to and from the said ports, or any other act of the federal gov- ernment to coerce the State, shut up her ports, destroy or harass her commerce, or to enforce the said act otherwise than through the civil tribunals of the country, as inconsistent with the loiujer continuance of South Carolina in the Union; 198 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. and that the people of the said State will thenceforth hold themselves absolved from all further obligation to maintain or preserve their political connection with the people of the other states, and will forthwith proceed to organize a separate gov- ernment, and do all other acts and things which sovereign and independent states may of right do : And whereas, the said ordinance prescribes to the people of South Carolina a course of conduct, in direct violation of their duty as citizens of the United States, contrary to the laws of their country, subversive of its Constitution, and having for its object the destruction of the Union — that Union, which, coeval with our political existence, led our fathers, without any other ties to unite them than those of patriotism and a common cause, through a sanguinary struggle to a glorious in- dependence — that sacred Union, hitherto inviolate, which, per- fected by our happy Constitution, has brought us by the favor of Heaven to a state of prosperity at home, and high consideration abroad, rarely, if ever, equalled in the history of nations. To preserve this bond of our political existence from destruction, to maintain inviolate this state of national honor and prosperi- ty, and to justify the confidence my fellow-citizens have re- posed in me, I, Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, have thought proper to issue this my Proclamation, stating my views of the Constitution and laws applicable to the measures adopted by the Convention of South Carolina, and to the reasons they have put forth to sustain them, declar- ing the course which duty will require me to pursue, and, ap- pealing to the understanding and patriotism of the people, warn them of the consequences that must inevitably result from an observance of the dictates of the Convention. Strict duty would require of me nothing more than the exer- cise of those poAvers with which I am now, or may hereafter be invested, for preserving the peace of the Union, and for the execution of the laws. But the imposing aspect which oppo- sition has assumed in this case, by clothing itself with state authority, and the deep interest which the people of the United States must all feel in preventing a resort to stronger measures, ■while there is a hope that any thing will be yielded to reason- ing and remonstrance, perhaps demand, and will certainly PROCLAMATION TO THE KULLIFIERS. 199 justify a full exposition to South Carolina and the nation, of the views I entertain of this important question, as well as a distinct enunciation of the course which my sense of duty will require me to pursue. The ordinance is founded, not on the indefeasible right of resisting acts which are plainly unconstitutional and too op- pressive to be endured ; but on the strange position that any one state may not only declare an act of Congress void, but prohibit its execution ; that they may do this consistently with the Constitution; that the true construction of that instrument permits a State to retain its place in the Union, and yet be bound by no other of its laws than it may choose to consider con- stitutional. It is true, they add, that to justify this abrogation of a law, it must be palpably contrary to the Constitution; but it is evident, that to give the right of resisting laws of that description, coupled with the uncontrolled right to decide what laws deserve that character, is to give the power of resisting all laws. For, as by the theory, there is no appeal, the reasons alleged by the State, good or bad, must prevail. If it should be said tliat public opinion is a sufficient check against the abuse of this power, it may be asked why it is not deemed a sufficient guard against the passage of an unconstitutional act by Congress. There is, however, a restraint in this last case, which makes the assumed jjower of a state more indefensible, and which does not exist in the other. There are two appeals from an unconstitutional act passed by Congress — one to the judiciary, the other to the people and the states. There is no appeal from the State decision in theory, and the practical illus- tration shows that the courts are closed against an application to review it, both judge and jurors being sworn to decide in its favor. But reasoning on this subject is superfluous when our social compact in express terms declares, that the laws of the United States, its Constitution and treaties mtide under it, are the sui)reme law of the land — and for greater caution adds, " that the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding." And it may be asserted without fear of jefutation, that no federative government could exist without ca similar provision. Look for a moment to the consequences. 200 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. If South Carolina considers the revenue laws unconstitutional, and has a right to prevent their execution in the port of Charles- ton, there would be a clear constitutional objection to their collection in every other port, and no revenue could be col- lected any where ; for all imposts must be equal. It is no answer to repeat, that an unconstitutional law is no law, so long as the question of its legality is to be decided by the State itself; for every law operating injuriously upon any local interest, will be perhaps thought, and certainly repre- sented, as unconstitutional, and, as has been shown, there is no appeal. If this doctrine had been established at an earlier daj', the Union would have been dissolved in its infancy. The excise law in Pennsylvania, the embargo and non-intercourse law in the eastern states, the carriage tax in Virginia, were all deem- ed unconstitutional, and were more unequal in their operation than any of the laws now complained of ; but fortunately none of those states discovered that they had the right now claimed by South Carolina. The war into which we were forced, to support the dignity of the nation and the rights of our citizens, might have ended in defeat and disgrace, instead of victory and honor, if the states who supposed it a ruinous and uncon- stitutional measure, had thought they possessed the right of nullifying the act by which it was declared, and denying sup- plies for its prosecution. Hardly and unequally as those measures bore upon several members of the union, to the leg- islatures of none did this efhcient and peaceable remedy, as it is called, suggest itself. The discovery of this important fea- ture in our Constitution was reserved for the present day. To the statesmen of South Carolina belongs the invention, and up- on the citizens of that State will unfortunately fall the evil of reducing it to practice. If the doctrine of a state veto upon the laws of the Union carries with it internal evidence of its impracticable absurdity, our constitutional history will also afford abundant proof that it would have been repudiated with indignation, had it been proposed to form a feature in our government. In our colonial state, although dependent on another power, we very early considered ourselves as connected by common PROCLAMATION TO THF. NULLIFIERS. 201 interest with eacli other. Leagues were formed for common defense, and before the Declaration of Independence we were known in our aggregate character as the united colonies OF AMERICA. That dccisive and important step was taken jointly. We declared ourselves a nation by a joint, not by several acts, and when the terms of confederation were redu- ced to form, it was in that of a solemn league of several states, by which they agreed, that they would collective!}' form one nation for the purpose of conducting some certain domestic concerns and all foreign relations. In the instrument forming that union is found an article which declares that, " every state shall abide by the determination of Congress on all ques- tions which by that confederation should be submitted to them." Under the Confederation then, no state could legallj- annul a decision of the Congress, or refuse to submit to its execu- tion ; but no provision was made to enforce these decisions. Congress made requisitions, but they were not complied Avith. The government could not operate on individuals. They had no judiciary, no means of collecting revenue. But the defects of the Confederation need not be detailed. Under its operation we could scarcely be called a nation. We had neither prosperity at home, nor consideration abroad. This state of things could not be endured, and our present happy Constitution was formed, but formed in vain if this fatal doc- trine prevails. It was formed for important objects that are announced in the preamble, made in the name and by the au- thority of the people of the United States, whose delegates framed, and whose conventions approved it. The most im- portant among these objects, that which is placed first in rank, on which all others rest, is "to form a more perfect un- ion." Now, is it possible that even if there were no e.xpress provisions giving supremacy to the Constitution and La^vs of the United States over those of the states — can it be conceived that an instrument made for the purpose of " forming a more perfect union," than that of the Confederation, could be so constructed by the assembled wisdom of our country as to substitute for that confederation a form of government depen- dent for its existence on the local interest, the party spirit of a state, or of a prevailing faction in a state .' Every man of 202 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. plain, unsophisticated understanding, who hears the question, will give such an answer as will preserve the Union. Bleta- physical subtlety, in pursuit of an impracticable theory, could alone have devised one that is calculated to destroy it. I consider then the power lo annul a law of the United States, assumed by one state, incompatible with the exist- ence OF THE UNION, CONTRADICTED EXPRESSLY BY THE LET- TER OF THE CONSTITUTION, UNAUTHORIZED BY ITS SPIRIT, IN- CONSISTENT WITH EVERY PRINCIPLE ON WHICH IT WAS FOUND- ED, AND DESTRUCTIVE OF THE GREAT OBJECT FOR WHICH IT WAS FORMED. After this general view of the leading principle, Ave must examine the particular application of it which is made in the ordinance. The preamble rests its justification on these grounds : It as- sumes as a fact, that the obnoxious laws, although they pur- port to be laws for raising revenue, were in reality intended for the protection of manufactures, which purpose it asserts to be unconstitutional; that the operation of these laws is une- qual; that the amount raised by them is greater than is re- quired by the wants of the government ; and finally, that the proceeds are to be applied to objects unauthorized by the con- stitution. These are only causes alleged to justify an open opposition to the laws of the country, and a threat of seceding from the Union, if any attempt should be made to enforce them The first virtually acknowledges, that the law in ques- tion was passed under a power expressly given by the Consti- tution, to lay and collect imposts : but its constitutionality is drawn in question from the motives of those who passed it. However apparent this purpose may be in the present case, nothing can be more dangerous than to admit the position that an unconstitutional purpose, entertained by the members who assent to a law enacted under a constitutional power, shall make that law void ; for how is that purpose to be ascertain- ed .' Who is to make the scrutiny ? How often may bad purposes be falsely imputed — in how many cases are they concealed by false professions — in how many is no declara- tion of motives made ? Admit this doctrine, and you give to the states an uncontrolled right to decide, and every law may PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS. 203 be annulled under this pretext. If, therefore, the absurd and dangerous doctrine should be admitted, that a state may annul an unconstitutional law, or one that it deems such, it will not apply to the present case. The ne.vt objection is, that the laws in question operate un- equally. This objection may be made with truth, to every law that has been or can be passed. The wisdom of man never yet contrived a system of taxation that would operate with perfect equality. If the unequal operation of a law makes it unconstitutional, and if all laws of that description may be abrogated by any state for that cause, then indeed is the Federal Constitution unworthy of the slightest effort for its preservation. We have hitherto relied on it as the perpetual bond of our Union. We have received it as the work of the assembled wisdom of the nation. We have trusted to it as to the sheet anchor of our .safety in the stormytimesof conflict with a foreign or domestic foe. We have looked to it with sacred awe as the palladium of our liberties, and with all the solemnities of religion have pledged to each other ourlives and fortunes here, and our hoi)es of happiness hereafter, in its defense and sup- port. Were we mistaken, my countrymen, in attaching this importance to the Constitution of our country.' Was our de- votion paid to the wretclied, inefficient, clumsy contrivance wliich this new doctrine would make it.' Did we pledge our- selves to the support of an airy nothing, a bubble that must be blown away by the first breath of disaffection .' Was this self-destroying, visionary theory, the work of the profound statesmen, the e.xalted patriots, to whom the task of constitu- tional reform was entrusted .' Did the name of Washington sanction, did the states ratify such an anomaly in the history of fundamenlal legislation? No. We were not mistaken. The letter of this great instrument is free from this radical fault: its language directly contradicts the imputation: its spirit — its evident intent, contradicts it. No ; we did not err ! Our Constitution does not contain the absurdity of giving pow- er to make laws, and another power to resist them. The sages whose memory will always be reverenced, have given us a practical, and, as they hoped, a permanent constitutional com- pact. The father of his country did not affix his revered name 204 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. to SO palpable an absurdity. Nor did the states, wLen they severally ratified it, do so under the impression that a veto on the laws of the United States was reserved to them, or that they could exercise it by implication. Search the debates in all their conventions — e.vamine the speeches of the most zeal- ous opposers of federal authority — look at the amemlments that were proposed — they are all silent — not a syllable uttered, not a vote given, not a motion made to correct the explicit su- premacy given to the laws of the Union over those of the states — or to show that implication, as is now contended, could defeat it. No — we have not erred ! The Constitution is still the object of our reverence, the bond of our Union, our defense in danger, the source of our prosperity in peace. It shall descend, as we have received it, uncorrupted by sophis- tical construction, to posterity; and the sacrifices of local in- terest, of state prejudices, of personal animosities, that were made to bring it into existence, will again be patriotically of- fered for its support. The two remaining objections made by the ordinance to these laws are, that the sums intended to be raised by them are greater than required, and that the proceeds will be uncon- stitutionally employed. The Constitution has given expressly to Congress the right of raising revenue, and of determining the sum the public exi- gencies will require. The states have no control over the ex- ercise of this right, other than that which results from the power of changing the representatives who abuse it ; and thus procure redress. Congress may undoubtedly abuse this dis- cretionary power, but the same may be said of others with which they are vested. Yet the discretion must exist some- where. The Constitution has given it to the representatives of all the people, checked by the representatives of the states and the executive power. The South Carolina construction gives it to the Legislature, or the Convention of a single State, Avere neither the people of the different states, nor the states in their separate capacity, nor the chief magistrate elected by the people, have any rei)resentation. Which is the most dis- creet disposition of the power.' I do not ask 5'ou, fellow-cit- izens, which is the constitutional disposition — that instrument PROCLAMATION TO THE KULLIFIERS. 205 Speaks a language not to be misunderstood. But if you were assembled in General Convention, which would you think the safest depository of this discretionary power in the last resort? Would you add a clause giving it to each of the states, or would you sanction the wise provisions already made by your Constitution ? If this should be the result of your deliberations when providing for the future, are you, can you be ready, to risk all that we hold dear, to establish, for a temporary and a local purpose, that which you must acknowledge to be de- structive and even absurd as a general provision ? Carry out the consequences of this right vested in the different states, and you must perceive that the crisis your conduct presents at this day would recur whenever any law of the United States displeased any of the states, and we should soon cease to be a nation. The ordinance, with the same knowledge of the future that characterizes a former objection, tells you that the proceeds of the tax will be unconstitutionally applied. If this could be ascertained with certainty, the objection would, with more pro- priety, be reserved for the laws so aj'plying the proceeds, but surely cannot be urged against the law levying the duty. These are the allegations contained in the ordinance. Ex- amine them seriously, my fellow- citizens — judge for your- selves. I appeal to you to determine whether they are so clear, so convincing, as to leave no doubt of their correct- ness; and even if you should come to this conclusion, how far they justify the reckless, destructive course which you are directed to pursue. Review these objections, and the conclusions drawn from them once more. What are they ? Every law then for raising revenue according to the South Carolina ordinance, may he rightfully annulled, unless it be so framed as no law ever will or can be framed. Congress have a right to pass laws for raising revenue, and each State has a right to oppose their execution — two rights directly- opposed to each other — and yet is this absurdity supposed to be contained in an instrument drawn for the express pur- pose of avoiding collisions between the states and the gen- eral government, by an assembly of the most enlightened 206 LIFE OF ANDRKW JACKSON. Statesmen and purest patriots ever embodied for a similar purpose. In vain have tlicse sages declared that Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises — in vain ha.ve they provided that they shall have power to pass laws which shall be necessary and proper to carry those powers into execution, that those laws and that Constitu- tion shall be the " supreme law of the land, and that the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary, not- withstanding." In vain have the people of the several States solemnly sanctioned these provisions, made them their para- mount law, and individually sworn to support them when- ever they were called to execute any office. Vain provisions ! ineffectual restrictions ! vile profanation of oaths ! miserable mockery of legislation! if a bare majority of the voters in any one State may, on a real or supposed knowledge of the intent with which a law has been passed, declare themselves free from its operation — say here it gives too little, there too much, and operates unequally — here it suffers articles to be free that ought to be taxed — there it taxes those that ought to be free — in this case the proceeds are intended to be ap- plied to purposes which we do not approve — in that the amount raised is more than is wanted. Congress, it is true, are invested by the Constitution with the right of deciding these questions according to their sound discretion ; Congress is composed of the representatives of all the States and of all the people of all the States ; but, we, part of the people of one State, to whom the Constitution has given no power on the subject, from whom it has expressly taken it away — we who have solemnly agreed that this Constitution shall be our law — WE, most of whom have sworn to support it — we now abro- gate this law and swear, and force others to swear, that it shall not be obeyed ! And we do this, not because Congress have no right to pass such laws, this we do not allege, but because they have passed them with improper views. They are uncon- stitutional from the motives of those who passed them, which we can never with certainty know — from their unequal opera- PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS. 201 tion, although it is impossible from the nature of things that they should be equal — and from the disposition which we pre- sume may be made of their proceeds, although that dii^position has.not been declared. This is the plain meaning of the ordi- nance in relation to laws which it abrogates for alleged uncon- stitutionality. But it does not stop there. It repeals, in ex- press terms, an important part of the Constitution itself, and of laws passed to give it eliect which have never been alleged to be unconstitutional. The Constitution declares that the ju- dicial powers of the United States, extend to cases arising un- der the laws of the United States, and that such laws, the Con- stitution and treaties, shall be paramount to the Stale Consti- tutions and laws. The judiciary act prescribes the mode by which the case may be brought before a court of the United States, by appeal, when a State tribunal shall decide against this provision of the Constitution. The ordinance declares there shall be no appeal — makes the State law paramount to the Constitution and laws of the United States — forces judges and jurors to swear that they will disregard their provisions; and even makes it penal in a suitor to attempt relief by appeal. It further declares that it shall not be lawful for the authorities of the United States, or of that State to enforce the payment of duties imposed by the revenue laws within its limits. Here is a law of the United States not even pretended to be unconstitutional, repealed by the authority of a small majority of the voters of a single State. Here is a provision of the Constitution which is solemnly abrogated by the same au- thority. On such expositions and reasonings the ordinance grounds not only an assertion of the right to annxil the laws of which it complains, but to enforce it by a threat of seceding from the Union if any attempt is made to execute them. This right to secede is deduced from the nature of the Con- stitution, which they say is a compact between sovereign Slates, who have preserved their whole sovereignty, and, there- fore, are subject to no superior ; that because they made the compact, they can break it, when, in their opinion, it has been departed from by the other States. Fallacious as this course of reasoning is, it enlists state pride, and fmds advocates in 208 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. the honest prejiulices of those who have not studied the na- ture of our government sutiiciently to see the radical error on which it rests. The people of the United States formed the Constitution, acting through the State Legislatures in making the compact, to meet and discuss its provisions, and acting in separate Conventions when they ratified those provisions; hut the terms used in its construction, show it to be a government in which the people of all the States are collectively represented. We are one people in the choice of a President and Vice-President. Here the States have no other agency than to direct the mode in which the votes shall be given. The candidates having the majority of all the votes are chosen. The electors of a majority of the States may have given their votes for one candidate, and yet another may be chosen. The people, then, and not the States, are represented in the executive branch. In the House of Representatives there is this difference, that the people of one State do not as in the case of President and Vice-President, all vote for the same ofTicers. The people of all the States do not vote for all the members, each State elect- ing only its own Representatives. But this creates no material distinction. When chosen, they are all Representatives of the United States, not Representatives of the particular State from which they come. They are paid by the United States, not by the State ; nor are the}' accountable to it for any act done in the performance of their legislative functions ; and however they may, in practice, as it is their duty to do, consult and prefer the interests of their particular constituents when they come in conflict with any other partial or local interest, yet it is their first and highest duty, as Representatives of the United States, to promote the general good. The Constitution of the United States then forms a govern- ment, not a league, and whether it be formed by compact be- tween the states, or in any other manner, its character is the same. It is a government in which all the people are repre- sented, which operates directly on the people individually, not upon the states — they retained all the power they did not grant. But each State having expressly parted with so many powers, as to constitute jointly with the other States a single nation, PROCLAMATION TO THE KULLIFIERS. 209 cannot from that period possess any right to secede, because such secession does not break a league, but destroys the unity of a nation, and any injury to that unity is not only a breach which would result from the contravention of a compact, but it is an oflense against the whole Union. To say that any State may at pleasure secede from the Union, is to say that the United States are not a nation, because it would be a solecism to contend that any part of a nation might dissolve its connex- ion with the other parts, to their injury or ruin, without com- mitling any otFense. Secession, like any other revolutionary act, may l)e morally justified by the extremity of oppression ; but to call it a constitutional right, is confounding the mean- ing of terms, and can only be done through gross error, or to deceive those who arc willing to assert a right, but would pause before they made a revolution, or incur the penalties consequent on a failure. Because the Union was formed by compact, it is said the parlies to that compact may, when they feel themselves ag- grieved, depart from it, but it is precisely because it is a com- pact that they cannot. A compact is an agreement or binding obligation. It may by its terms have a sanction or penalty for its breach, or it may not. If it contains no sanction, it may be broken with no other consequence than moral gixilt; if it have a sanction, then the breach incurs the designated or im- plied penalty. A league between independent nations, gene- rally, has no sanction other than a moral one; or if it should contain a penalty, as there is no common superior, it cannot be enforced. A government, on the contrary, always has a sanction express or implied, and in our case, it is both neces- sai'ily implied and expressly given. An attempt by force of arms to destroy a government, is an oflense, by whatever means the conslitulional compact may have been foxmed ; and such government has the right, by the law of self-defense, to pass ads for punishing the otiender, unless that right is modi- lied, restrained, ov resumed by the constitutional act. In our system, althougli it is modified in the case of treason, yet au- thority is expressly given to pass all laws necessary to carry its powers into effect, and under this grant, provision hasbeen 14 210 LIl'K OF ANDREW JACKSON. made for punishing acts which obstruct the due administratior. of the laws. It would seem superfluous to add any thing to show the na- ture of that union which connects us; but as erroneous opin- ions on this subject are the foundation of doctrines the most destructive to our peace, I must give some further development to my views on this subject. No one, fellow-citizens, has a higher reverence for the reserved rights of the states, than the magistrate who now addresses you. No one would make greater personal sacrifices, or official exertions, to defend them from violation, but equal care must be taken to prevent on their part an improper interference with, or resumption of the rights they have vested in the nation. The line ha.? hot been so distinctly drawn as to avoid doubts in some cases of the ex- ercise of power. Men of the best intentions and soundest views may differ in their construction of some parts of the Constitution ; but there are others on which dispassionate re- flection can leave no doubt. Of this nature appears to be the assumed right of secession. It rests, as we have seen, on the alleged undivided sovereignty of the states, and on their hav- ing formed in this sovereign capacity a compact which is call- ed the Con.stitution, from which, because they made it, they have the right to secede. Both of these positions are errone- ous, and some of the arguments to prove them so have been anticipated. The states severally have not retained their entire sovereign- ty. It has been shown that in becoming parts of a nation, not members of a league, they surrendered many of their essential parts of sovereignty. The riglit to make treaties, declare war, levy taxes, exercise exclusive judicial and legislative powers, were all of them functions of sovereign power. The states, then, for all these important purposes, were no longer sover- eign. The allegiance of their citizens was transferred in the first instance to the Government of the United States ; they be- came American citizens, and owed obedience to the Constitu- tion of the United States, and to laws made in conformity with powers it vested in Congress. This last position hasnot been, and cannot be denied. How then can that State be said to be PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS. 211 sovereign and independent whose citizens owe obedience to laws not made by it, and whose magistrates are sworn to dis- regard those Jaws, when they come in conflict with those pass- ed by another ? What shows conclusively that the states can- not be said to have reserved an undivided sovereignty, is that they expressly ceded the right to punish treason, not treason against their separate power, but treason against the United States. Treason is an offense against sovereignty, and sov- ereignty must reside with the power to punish it. But the re- served rights of the states are not the less sacred because they have for the common interest made the general government the depository of these powers. The unity of our political character (as has been shown for another purpose) commenced with its very existence. Under the royal government, we had no separate character ; our opposition to its oppressions began as l'nitf.d colonies. We were the United States under the Confederation, and the name was perpetuated and the Union rendered more perfect by the Federal Constitution. In none of these stages did we consider ourselves in any other light than as forming one nation. Treaties and alliances were made in the name of all. Troops were raised for the joint defense. How, then, with all these proofs, that under all changes oi oiii* position we had, for designated purposes, and with defined powers, created national governments ; how is it that the most perfect of those several modes of union, should now be con- sidered as a mere league that may be dissolved at pleasure ? It is from an abuse of terms. Compact is used as synonymous with league, although the true term is not employed, because it would at once show the fallacy of the reasoning. It would not do to say that our Constitution was only a league, but, it is labored to prove it a compact, (which in one sense it is,) and then to argue that as a league is a compact, every compact be- tween nations must of course be a league, and that from such an engagement every sovereign power has a right to recede. But it has been shown, that in this sen.se the States are not .sovereign, and that even if they were, and the National Con- stitution had been formed by compact, there would be no right in any one State to exonerate itself from its obligations. 212 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. So obvious are llie reasons whicli forbid this secession, that it is necessary only to allude to them. The Union was • formed for the benefit of all. It was produced by mutual sacrifices of interests and opinion. Can those sacrifices be recalled .' Can the States, who magnanimously surrendered their title to the territories of the west, recall the grant ? Will the inhabitants of the inland States agree to pay the duties that may be imposed without their assent by those on the Atlantic or the gulf, for their own benefit ? Shall there be a free port in one State and onerous duties in an- other ? No one believes that any right exists in a single State to involve all the others in these and countless other evils, contrary to engagements solemnly made. Every one must see that the other States, in self-defense, must oppose it at all hazards. These are the alternatives that are presented by the Con- vention ; a repeal of all the acts for raising revenue, leav- ing the government without the means of support ; or an acquiescence in the dissolution of our Union by the seces- sion of one of its members. When the first was proposed, it was known that it could not be listened to for a moment. It was known if force was applied to oppose the execution of the laws, that it must be repelled by force — that Con- gress could not, without involving itself in disgrace and the country in ruin, accede to the proposition ; and yet if this is done on a given day, or if any attempt is made to exe- tute the laws, the State is, by the ordinance, declared to be out of the Union. The majority of a Convention assembled for the purpose, have dictated these terms, or rather its rejection of all terms, in the name of the people of South Carolina. It is true that the Governor of the State speaks of submission of their griev- ances to a Convention of all the States ; which he says they " sincerely and anxiously seek and desire." Yet this obvious and constitutional mode of obtaining the sense of the other States on the construction of the federal compact, and amending it, if necessary, has never been attempted by those who have urged the State on to this destructive meas- PROCJ.AMATION TO THE KULLIFIER3. 213 lire. The State might have proposed the call for a general convention to the other States ; and Congress, if a sutHcient number of them concurred, must have called it. But the first magistrate of South Carolina, when he ex- pressed a hope that, " on a review by Congress and the func- tionaries of the general government of the merits of the con- troversy," such a Convention will be accorded to them, must have known that neither Congress nor any functionary of the general government has authority to call such a Convention, unless it be demanded by two-thirds of the States. This sug- gestion, then, is another instance of a reckless inattention to the provisions of the Constitution with W'hich this crisis has been madly hurried on ; or of the attempt to persuade the people that a constitutional remedy had been sought and re- fused. If the Legislature of South Carolina " anxiously de- sire'' a general convention to consider their complaints, why have they not made application for it in the way the Consti- tution points out.' The assertion that they "earnestly seek if is completely negatived by the omission. This, then, is the position in which we stand. A sm.all •majority of the citizens of one State in the Union have elected delegates to a State Convention; that Convention has ordained that all the revenue laws of the United States must be re- pealed, or that they are no longer a member of the Union. The Governor of that State has recommended to the Legis- lature the raising of an army to carry the secession into efTect, and that he may be empowered to give clearances to vessels in the name of the State. No act of violent opposition to the laws has yet been committed, but such a state of things is hourly apprehended, and it is the intent of this instrument to PROCLAiJi not only the duty imposed on me by the Con- stitution " to take care that the laws be faithfully executed," shall be performed to the extent of the powers already vested in me by law, or of .such others as the wisdom of Congress .shall devise and entrust to me for that purpose ; but to warn the citizens of South Carolina, who have been deluded into an opposition to the laws, of the danger they will incur by obedience to the illegal and disorganizing ordinance of the Convention — to exhort those who have refused to support it. 214 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. to persevere in their determination to uphold the Constitution and laws of their country — and to point out to all, the peril- ous situation into which the good people of tliat State have been led— and that the course they are urged to pursue is one of ruin and disgrace to the very State whose rights they effect to support. Fellow-citizens of my native State ! — let me not only admo- nish you, as the first Magistrate of our common country, not to incur the penalty of its laws, but use the influence that a father would over his children, whom he saw rushing to cer- tain ruin. In that paternal language, with that paternal feel- ing, let me tell you, my countrymen, that you are deluded by men who are either deceived themselves, or wish to deceive you. Mark under what pretences you have been led on to the brink of insurrection and treason, on which you stand ! First, a diminution of the value of your staple commodity low- ered by over production in other quarters and the consequent diminution in the value of your lands, were the sole effect of the Tariff laws. Tlie effect of those laws was confessedly inju- rious, but the evil was greatly exaggerated by the unfounded theory you were taught to believe, that its burdens were in proportion to your exports, not to your consumption of import- ed articles. Your pride was roused by the assertion that a submission to those laws was a state of vassalage, and that resistance to them was equal, in patriotic merit, to the opposi- tion our Fathers offered to the oppressive laws of Great Brit- ain. You were told that this opposition might be peaceably — might be constitutionally made — that you might enjoy all the advantages of the Union and bear none of its burthens. Elo- quent appeals to your passions, to your State pride, to your native courage, to your sense of real injury, were used to pre- pare you for the period when the mask which concealed the hideous features of disunion, should be taken off. It fell, and you were made to look with complacency on objects which not long since you would have regarded with horror. Look back to the arts which have brought you to this state ; look forward to the consequences to which it must Inevitably lead ! Look back to what was first told you as an inducement to en- ter into this dangerous course. The great political truth was PROCLAMATION TO THE NULLIFIERS. 215 a-epeated to you, that yo\i luui the revolutionaiy right of resist- ing all laws that were palpably unconstitutional and intolera- bly oppressive — it was added that the right to nullify a law rested on the same principle, but that it was a peaceable reme- dy ! This character which was given to it, made you receive with too much confidence the assertions that were made of the Tinconstitutionality of the law and its oppressive effects. j\Iark, my fellow-citizens, that by the admission of your leaders, the unconstitutionality must be palpable, or it will not Justify either resistance or nullification ! What is the mean- ing of the word palpable in the sense in which it is here used ? — that wliich is apparent to every one, that which no man of ordinary intellect will fail to perceive. Is the unconstitution- ality of these laws of that description ? Let those among your leaders who once approved and advocated the principle of protective duties answer the question ; and let them choose whether they will be considered as incapable, then, of per- ceiving that which must have been apparent to every man of common understanding, or as imposing upon your confidence and endeavoring to mislead you now. In either case they are unsafe guides in the perilous paths they urge you to tread. Ponder well on tliis circumstance, and you will know how to ^ai)preciate the exaggerated language they address to you. They are not cliampions of liberty, emulating the fame of our Rev- olutionary Fathers, nor are you an oppressed people, contend- ing, as they repeat to you, against worse than colonial vassal- age. You are free members of a flourishing and happy Un- ion. There is no settled design to oppress you. You have indeed felt the unequal operations of laws which may have been unwisely, not unconstitutionally passed; but that ine- quality must necessarily be removed. At the very moment when you were madly urged on to the unfortunate course you have begun, a change in public opin- ion had commenced. The nearly approaching payment of the public debt, and the consequent necessity of a diminution of duties, had already produced a considerable reduction, and that too on some articles of general consumption in your State. Tlie importance of this change was understood, and you were aautlioritativcly told that no further alleviation of your bur- 216 LIFE OF AXDREW JACKSON. (lens was to be expected at the very time when the condition of the countiy imperiously demanded such a modification of the duties as should reduce them to a just and equitable scale. But, as if apprehensive of the effect of this change in allay- ing your discontents, you were precipitated into the fearful state in which you now find yourselves. I have urged you to look back to the means that were used to hurry you on to the position you have now assumed, and forward to the consequences it will produce. Something more is necessary. Contemplate the condition of that country of which you still form an important part ! consider its Govern- ment uniting in one bond of common interest and general pro- tection so many different States — giving to their inhabitants the proud title of American citizens — protecting their commerce — securing their literature and their arts — facilitating their in- tercommunication — defending the frontiers — and making their name respected in the remotest parts of the earth ! Consider the extent of its territory, its increasing and happy popula- tion, its advance in arts which render life agreeable, and the sciences which elevate the mind : see education spreading the lights of religion, humanity, and general information into ev- ery cottage in this wide extent of our Territories and States i Behold it as the asylum where the wretched and the oppress- ed find a refuge and support 1 Look on this picture of hap- piness and honor, and sa)^ we, too, are citizens of America ! Carolina is one of these proud States ; her arms have defend- ed her ; her best blood has cemented this happy Union ! And then add, if you can, without horror and remorse, this happy Union we will dissolve — this picture of peace and prosperity we will deface — this free intercourse we will interrupt — these fertile fields we v/ill deluge with blood — the protection of that glorious flag we will renounce — the very name of Americans we discard. And for what, mistaken men ! for what do you throw away these inestimable blessings — for what would you exchange your share in the advantage and honor of the Union ? For the dream of a separate independence — a dream interrupt- ed by bloody conflicts with you neighbors, and a vile depend- ence on a foreign power. If your leaders could succeed in e.stablishing a separation, what would be your situation ? Are PROCLAMATION TO THE NVLLIFIERS. 217 you united at home — are you free from the apprehension of civil discord, with all its fearful consequences ? Doonr neigh- boring republics, every day suffering some new revolution or contending with some new insuiTCction — do they excite your envy ? But the dictates of a high duly oblige me solemnly to announce^that you cannot succeed. The laws of the United States must be executed. I have no discretionary power on the subject; my duty is emphati- Cii.Uy pronounced in the Constitution. Those who told you that you might peaceably prevent their execution, deceived you — they could not have been deceived themselves. They know that a forcible opposition could alone prevent the exe- cution of the laws, and they know that such opposition must be repelled. Their object is disunion : be not deceived by names ; disunion, by armed force, is treason. Are you really ready to incur its guilt ? If you are, on the heads of the instiga- tors of the act, be the dreadful consequences — on their heads be the dishonor, but on yours may fall the punishment, on your unhappy State will inevitably fall all the evils of the conllict you force upon the Government of your country. It cannot accede to the mad project of disunion, of which }-ou ■would be the first victims — its first Magistrate cannot, if he would, avoid the performance of his duty — the consequence must be fearful for you, distressing to your fellow-citizens here, and to the friends of good government throughout the world. Its enemies have beheld our p-osperity with a vexa- tion they could not conceal — it was a standing refutation of their .slavish doctrines, and they will point to our discord with a triumph of malignant joy. It is yet in your power to disap- point them. There is yet time to show that the descendants of the Pinckneys, the Sumpters, the Rutleges, and of the thousand other names which adorn the pages of your Revolu- tionary history, will not abandon that Union, to support which, many of them fought and bled and died. I adjure you, as you honor their mcmorj- — as you love the cause of freedom, to whicli they dedicated their lives — as you prize the peace of your country, the lives of its best citizens, and your own fair fame, to retrace your steps. Snatch from the archives of your State the disorganizing edict of its Convention — bid its mem- 218 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSOX. bers to re-assemble and promulgate the decided expressions of your will to remain in the path which alone can conduct you to safety, prosperity and honor — tell them that compared to disunion, all other evils are light, because that brings with it an accumulation of all — declare that you will never take the field unless the star-spangled banner of your country shall float over you — that you will not be stigmatized when dead, and dishonored and scorned while you live, as the authors of the first attack on the Constitution of your country ! — ^Its de- stroyers you cannot be. You may disturb its peace — you may interrupt the course of its prosperity — you may cloud its repu- tation for stability — but its tranquility will be restored, its prosperity will return, and the stain upon its national charac- ter will be transferred, and remain an eternal blot on the mem- ory of those who caused the disorder. Fellow-citizens of the United States ! The threat of unhal- lowed disunion — the names of those, once respected, by whom it was uttered — the array of military force to support it — de- note the approach of a crisis in our affairs, on which the con- tinuance of our unexampled prosperity, our political existence, and perhaps that of all free governments may depend. The conjuncture demanded a free, a full and explicit enunciation, not only of my intentions, but of my principles of action ; and as the claim was asserted of a right by a State to annul the laws* of the Union, and even to secede from it at pleasure, a frank exposition of my opinions in relation to the origin and form of our Government, and the construction I give to the instru- ment by which it was created, seemed to be proper. Having the fullest confidence in the justness of the legal and consti- tutional opinion of my duties, which has been expressed, I re. ly with equal confidence on your undivided support in my de- termination to execute the laws— to preserve the Union by all constitutional means — to arrest, if possible, by moderate but firm measures, the necessity of a recourse to force; and if it be the will of Heaven that the recurrence of its primeval curse on man for the 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. Fellow-citizens ! the momentous case is before you. On FAREWELL ADDRESS. 219 your undivided support of your government, depends the de- cision of the groat question it involves, whether your sacred Union will be preserved, and the blessing it secures to us as ■one people shall be perpetuated. No one can doubt that the unanimity with which that decision will be expressed, will be such as to inspire new confidence in republican institutions, and thai the prudence, the wisdom, and the courage which it will bring to their defense, will transmit them unimpaired and invigorated to our children. May the Great Ruler of nations grant that the signal bless- ings with which lie has favored ours, may not, by the mad- ness of party or personal ambition, be disregarded and lost : and may His wise providence bring those who have produced this crisis, to see the folly, before they feel the misery of civil strife ; and inspire a returning veneration for that Union, which, if we may dare to penetrate His designs, he has chosen as the only means of attaining the high destinies to which we may reasonably aspire. ANDREW JACKSON. 220 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. PRESIDENT JACKSON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. Fellow-Citizens : Being about to retire finally from public life, I beg leave to offer you my grateful thanks for the many proofs of kindness and confidence which I have received at your hands. It has been my fortune, in the discharge of pub- lic dutie'?, civil and military, frequently to have found myself in diflicult and trying situations, where prompt decision and energetic action were necessary, and where the interests of the country required that high responsibilities should be fear- lessly encountered ; and it is with the deepest emotions of gratitude that I acknowledge the continued and unbroken con- fiidence with vvhich you have sustained me in every trial. My public life has been a long one, and I cannot hope that it has at all times been free from errors. But I have the consolation of knowing, that if mistakes have been committed, they have not seriously injured the country I so anxiously endeavored to serve ; and at the moment when I surrender my last public trust, I leave this great people prosperous and happy ; in the full enjoyment of liberty and peace ; and honored and respect- ed by every nation of the world. If my humble efforts have, in any degree, contributed to preserve to you these blessings, I have been more than re- Avarded by the honors you have heaped upon me ; and, above all, by the generous confidence with which you have sup- ported me in every peril, and Avith which you have continued to animate and cheer my path to the closing hour of my politi- cal life. The time has now come, when advanced age and a broken frame warn me to retire from public concerns ; but the recollection of the many favors you have bestowed upon me is engraven upon my heart, and I have felt that I could not part from your service without making this public acknow- ledgment of the gratitude I owe you. And if I use the occa- sion to offer to you the counsels of age and experience, you will, I trust, receive them with the same indulgent kindness which 3'ou have so often extended to me ; and will, at least, see in them an earnest desire to perpetuate, in this favored land, the blessings of liberty and equal laws. FAREWELL ADDRESS. 221 ^Vc have now lived almost iifty years under the Constitu- tion framed by the sages and patriots of the Revolution. The conflicts in which the nations of Europe were engaged during a great part of this period ; the spirit in which they waged war with each other; and our intimate commercial connec- tions with every part of the civilized world, rendered it a time of much diificulty for the Government of the United States. We have had our seasons of peace and of war, with all the evils which precede or follow a state of. hostility with powerful nations. We encountered these trials, with our Con- .stitution yet in its infancy, and under the disadvantages which a new and untried government must alway.s feci, when it is called upon to put forth its whole strength, without the lights of experience to guide it, or the weight of precedents to jus- tify its measures. But we have passed triumphantly through all these difficulties. Our Constitution is no longer a doubtful experiment ; and at the end of nearly half a century, we find that it has preserved, unimpaired, the liberties of the people, secured the rights of property, and is flourishing beyond any former example in the history of nations. In our domestic concerns, there is every thing to encourage us ; and if you are true to yourselves, nothing can impede your march to the highest point of national prosperity. The States which had so long been retarded in their improvement hy the Indian tribes residing in the midst of them, are at length relieved from the evil ; and this unhappy race — the original dwellers in our land — are now placed in a situation where we may well hope that they will share in the blessings of civilization, and be saved from that degradation and de- struction to which they Avere rapidly hastening, while they remained in the States ; and while the safety and comfort of our own citizens have been greatly promoted by their removal, the philanthropist will rejoice that the remnant of that ill-fated race has been at length placed beyond the reach of injury or oppression, and that the paternal care of the General Govern- ment will hereafter watch over them and protect them. If we turn to our relations with foreign powers, we find our condition equally gratifying. Actuated by the sincere desire to do justice to every nation, and to preserve the blessings of 222 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. peace, our intercourse with them has been conilucted on the part of this government in the spirit of frankness, and I take pleasure in saying that it has generally been met in a corres- ponding temper. Difficulties of old standing have been sur- mounted l>y friendly discussion, and the mutual desire to be just; and the claims of our citizens, which had been long withheld, have at length been acknowledged and adjusted, and satisfactory arrangements made for their final payment; and with a limited, and I trust a temporary exception, our re- lations with every foreign power are now of the most friendly character — our commerce continually expanding, and our flag respected in every quarter of the world. These cheering and grateful prospects, and these multiplied favors, we owe, under Providence, to the adoption of the Federal Constitution. It is no longer a question whether this great country can remain happily united, and flourish under our present form of government. Experience, the unerring test of all human undertakings, has shown the wisdom and foresight of those who framed it; and has proved, that in the union of these States there is a sure foundation for the bright- est hopes of freedom, and for the happiness of the people. At every hazard, and by every sacrifice, this union must be preserved. The necessity of watching with jealous anxiety, for the preservation of the Union, was earnestly pressed upon his fellow-citizens by the Father of his country, in his farewell address. He has there told us, that " while experience shall* not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who, in any quar- ter, may endeavor to weaken its bonds;" and he has cautioned us, in the strongest terms, against the formation of parties on geographical discriminations, as one of the means which might disturb our union, and to which designing men would be likely to resort. The lessons contained in this valuable legacy of Washing- ton to his countrymen, should be cherished in the heart of ev- ery citizen to the latest generation ; and perhaps, at no period of time could they be more useful!}^ remembered than at the present moment. For when we look upon the scenes that are FAREWELL ADDRESS. 223 passing avouiitl us, and dwell upon the pages of his parting address, his paternal counsels would seem to be not merely the offspring of wisdom and foresight, but the voice of prophecy foretelling events and warning us of the evil to come. Forty years have passed since this imperishable document was given to his countrymen. The Federal Constitution was then regard- ed by him as an experiment, and he so speaks of it in his ad- dress; but an experiment upon the success of which the best hopes of his country depended, and we all know that he was prepared to lay down his life, if necessary, to secure to it a full and fair trial. The trial has been made. It has succeed- ed beyond the proudest hopes of those who framed it. Every quarter of this widely extended nation has felt its blessings, and shared in the general prosperity produced by its adoption. But amid this general prosperity and splendid success, the dan- gers of which he warned us are becoming every day more ev- ident, and the signs of evil are sufficiently apparent to awaken the deepest anxiety in the bosom of the patriot. We hold sys- tematic efforts publicly made to sow the seeds of discord be- tween diflerent parts of the United States, and to place party divisions directly upon geographical distinctions ; to excite the South against the Nort/i, and the North against the South, and to force into the controversy the most delicate and exci- ting topics ; topics upon which it is impossible that a large por- tion of the Union can ever speak \\-ithout strong emotions. Appeals too, are constantly made to sectional interests, in or- der to influence the election of the Chief INIagistrate, as if it were desired that he should favor a particular quarter of the country, instead of fulfilling the duties of his station with im- partial justice to all ; and the possible dissolution of the Un- ion, has at length become an ordinary and familiar subject of discussion. Has the warning voice of Washington been for- gotten? or have designs already been formed to sever the Un- ion .' Let it not be supposed that I impute to all of those who have taken an active part in these unwise and unprofitable dis- cussions, a want of patriotism or of public virtue. The honor- al>le feeling of State pride, and local attachments, find a place in the bosoms of the most enlightened and pure. But while .*uch men are conscious of their own integrity and honesty of 224 LIFK OF ANDllKW JACKSON. purpose, they ought never to forget that the citizens of other states are their poHtical brethren ; and that, however mistaken they may he in their views, the great hotly of them are equally honest and upright with themselves. Mutual suspicions and reproaches may in time create mutual hostility, and artful and designing men will always be found, who are ready to foment these fatal divisions, and to inflame the natural jealousies of different sections of the country. The history of the world is full of such examples, and especially the history of repuhlics. What have you to gain by division and dissension ? Delude not yourselves with the belief that a breach once made, may be afterwards repaired. If the Union is once severed, the line of separation wnll grow wider and wider, and the controversies which are now debated and settled in the halls of legislation, will then he tried in fields of battle, and he determined by the sword. Neither should yoii deceive yourselves with the hope , that the first line of separation would be the permanent one, and that nothing but harmony and concord would he found in the new associations, formed upon the dissolution of this Union. Local interests would still be found there, and un- chastened ambition. And if the recollection of common dan- gers, in which the people of these United States stood side by side against the common foe ; the memory of victories won by their united valor; the prosperity and happiness they have en- joyed under the present Constitution ; the proud name they hear as citizens of this great republic ; if all these recollections and proofs of common interest are not strong enough to bind us together as one people, what tie will hold united the new- divisions of empire, when these honds have been broken and this Union dissevered ? The first line of separation would not last for a single generation; new fragments would he torn off; new leaders would spring up ; and this great and glorious re- public would soon he broken into a multitude of petty States ; armed for mutual aggression; loaded with taxes to pay armies and leaders; seeking aid against each other froiji foreign powers; insulted and trampled upon by the nations of Europe, until, harassed with conflicts, and humbled and debased in spirit, they would be ready to submit to the absolute dominion of any military adventurer, and to surrender their liberty for the sake FAKEWELL ADDRESS 225 of repose. It is impossible to look on the consequences that would inevitably follow the destruction of this government, and not feel indignant when we hear cold calculations about the value of the Union, and have so constantly before us a line of conduct so well calculated to weaken its ties There is too much at stake to allow pride or passion to in- fluence your decision. Never for a moment believe that the great body of the citizens of any State or Slates can delibe- rately intend to do wrong. They may, under the influence of temporary excitement or misguided opinions, commit mistakes ; they may be misled for a time by the suggestions of self-in- terest; but in a community so enlightened and patriotic as the people of the United States, argument will soon make them seuf-ible of their errors; and when convinced, they will be ready to repair them. If they have no higher or better mo- tives to govern them, they will at least perceive that their own interest requires them to be just to others, as they hope to re- ceive justice at their hands. But in order to maintain the Union unimpaired, it is abso- lutely necessary that the laws passed l)y the constituted au- thorities, should be faithfully e.vecuted in every part of the country, and that every good citizen should, at all times, stand ready to put down, with the combined force of the nation, every attempt at unlawful resistance, under whatever pretext it may be made, or whatever shape it may a.ssume. Uncon- stitutional or oppressive laws may no doubt be passed by Con- gress, either from erroneous views, or the want of due consid- eration ; if they are within reach of judicial authority, the remedy is easy and peaceful ; and if, from the character of the law, it is an abuse of power not within the control of the ju- diciary, then free discussion and calm appeals to reason and to the justice of the people, will not fail to redress the wrong. But until the law shall be declared void by the courts, or re- pealed by Congress, no individual or combination of individu- als, can be justified in forcibly resisting its execution. It is impossible that any government can continue to exist upon any other principles. It would cease to he a government and be unworthy of the name, if it had not the power to enforce the execution of its own laws within its own sphere of action. 15 226 LIFE OF AXBIIEW JACKSON. It is true that cases may be imagined, disclosing such a set- tied purpose of usurpation and oppression, on the part of the Government, as would justify an appeal to arms. These, how- ever, are extreme cases, which we have no reason to appre- hend in a Government where the power is in the hands of a patriotic people ; and no citizen who loves his country would, in any case whatever, resort to forcible resistance, unless he clearly saw that the time had come when a freeman should prefer death to submission ; for if such a struggle is once be- gun,' and the citizens of one section of the country arrayed in arms against those of another, in doubtful conflict, let the battle result as it may, there Avill be an end of the Union, and with it an end of the hopes of freedom. The victory of the injured would not secure to them the blessings of liberty ; it w'ould avenge their wrongs, but they would them.selves share in the common ruin. But the Constitution cannot be maintained, nor the Union preserved in opposition to public feeling, by the mere exertion of the coercive powers confided to the General Government. The foundations must be laid in the affections of the people ; in the security it gives to life, liberty, character and property in every quarter of the country ; and in the fraternal attachments which the citizens of the several States bear to one another, as members of one political familj', mutually contributing to promote the happiness of each other. Hence, the citizens of every State should studiously avoid every thing calculated to wound the sensibility or olfend the just pride of the people of other States; and they should frown upon any proceedings within their own borders likely to disturb the tranquility of their political brethren in other portions of the Union. In a country so extensive as the United States, and with pursuits so varied, the internal regulations of the several States must frequently differ from one another in important particulars; and this difference is unavoidably increased by the varying principles upon which the American Colonies were originally planted ; principles which had taken deep root in their social relations before the Revolution, and therefore, of necessity, influencing their policy since they became free and independ- ent States. But each State has the unquestionable right to FAREWELL ADDRESS, 227 regulate its own internal concerns according to its own pleas-- ure ; and while it does not interfere with the rights of the people of other States, or the rights of the Union, ever\^ State must be the sole judge of the measures proper to secure the safety of its citizens and promote their happiness ; and all efforts on the part of the people of other States to cast odium upon their institutions, and all measures calculated to disturb their rights of property, or to put in jeopardy their peace and internal tranquility, are in direct opposition to the spirit in which the Union was formed, and must endanger its safety. INIotives of philanthropy may be assigned for this unv/arrant- able interference ; and weak men may persuade themselves for a moment that they are laboring in the cause of hum.anity, and asserting the rights of the human race ; but every one, upon sober reflection, will see that nothing but mischief can come from these improper assaults upon the feelings and rights of others. Rest assured, that the men found busy in this work of discord are not worthy of your confidence, and de- serve your strongest reprobation. In the legislation of Congress, also, and in every measure of the General Government, justice to every portion of the United States should be faithfully observed. No free govern- ment can stand without virtue in the people, and a lofty spirit of patrioti.sm ; and if the sordid feelings of mere selfishness .=hall usurp the place which ought to be filled by public spirit, the legislation of Congress will .soon be converted into a scram- ble for personal and sectional advantages. Under our free institutions, the citizens of every quarter of our country are capable of attaining a high degree of prosperity and happi- ness, without seeking to profit themselves at the expense of others ; and every such attempt must, in the end, fail to suc- ceed ; for the people in every part of the United States are too enlightened not to understand their own rights and interests, and to detect and defeat every effort to gain undue advantages over them; and when such designs are discovered, it naturally provokes resentments which cannot always be allayed. Jus- tice, full and ample justice, to every portion of the United States, should be the ruling principle of every freeman, and 228 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. should guide the deliberations of every public body, whether it he state or national. It is well known that there have always been those among us who wish to enlarge the powers of the General Government ; and experience would seenr to indicate that there i.5 a ten- dency on the part of this Governm.ent to overstep the bounda- ries marked out for it by the Constitution. Its legitimate au- thority is abundantly sufficient for all the purposes for which it was created: and its powers being expressly enumerated, there can be no justification for claiming anything beyond them. Every attempt to exercise power beyond these limits should be promptly and firmly opposed. For one evil exam- ple will lead to other measures still more mischievous; and if the principle of constructive powers, or supposed advantages, or temporary circumstances, shall ever be permitted to justify the a.=!Sumption of a power not given by the Constitution, the General Government will before long absorb all the powers of legislation, and you will have, in effect, but one consolidated government. From the extent of our country, its diversified interests, different pursuits, and different habits, it is too obvi- ous for argument that a single consolidated government would he wholly inadequate to watch over and protect its interests; and every friend of our free institutions should be always pre- pared to maintain unimpaired and in full vigor the rights and sovereignty of the States, and to confine the action of the Gen- eral Government strictly to the sphere of its appropriate duties. There is, perhaps, no one of the powers conferred on the Federal Government so liable to abuse as the taxing power. The most productive and convenient sources of revenue were necessarily given to it, that it might be able to perform the im- portant duties imposed upon it ; and the taxes which it lays upon commerce being concealed from the real payer in the price of the article, they do not so readily attract the attention of the people as smaller sums demanded from them directly by the tax-gatherer. But the tax imposed on goods, enhances by so much the price of the commodity to the consumer; and as many of these duties are imposed on articles of necessity which are daily used by the great body of the people, the money FAUEV.'ELL ADDRESS. 229 raised by these imposts is drawn from their pockets. Con- gress has no right under the Constitution to take money from the people, unless it is required to e.vecute some one of the spe- cific powers entrusted to the Government ; and if they raise more than is necessary for such purposes, it is an abuse of the power of taxation, and unjust and oppressive. It may in- deed happen that the revenue will .sometimes exceed the amount anticipated when tlic taxes were laid. When, however, this is ascertained, it is easy to reduce them ; and, in such a case, it is unquestionably the duty of the Government to reduce them, for no circum.stances can justify it in as.suming a power not given to it by the Constitution, nor in taking away the money of the people when it is not needed for the legitimate wants of the Government. Plain as these principles appear to be, you will yet find that there is a constant effort to induce the General Government to go beyond the limits of its taxing power, and to impose unne- cessary burdens upon the people. Many powerful interests are continually at work to procure heavy duties on commerce, and to swell the revenue beyond the real necessities of the public service; and the country has already felt the injurious elFects of their combined influence. They succeeded in obtain- ing a tariff of duties bearing most oppressively on the agricul- tural and laboring classes of society, and producing a revenue that could not be usefully employed within the range of the jiowers conferred upon Congress ; and in order to fasten upon the people this unjust and unequal system of taxation, extrav- agant schemes of internal improvement were got up in various quarters, to squander the money and to purchase support. Thus, one unconstitutional measure was intended to be upheld by another, and the abuse of the power of taxation was to be maintained by usurping the power of expending the money in internal improvements. You cannot have forgotten the severe and doubtful struggle through which we passed, when the ex- ecutive department of the Government, by its veto, endeavored to arrest the prodigal scheme of injustice, and to bring back the legislation of Congress to the boundaries prescribed by the Constitution. The good sense and practical judgment of the people, when the subject was brought before them, sustained 230 LITE OF ANDREW JACKSON. the course of the executive, and this plan of unconstitutional expenditure for the purposes of corrupt influence is, I tnist, finally overthrown. The result of this decision has been felt in the rapid extin- guishment of the public debt, and the large accumulation of a surplus in the treasury, notwithstanding the tariff' was reduced, and is now far below the amount originally contemplated by its advocates. But, rely upon it, the design to collect an ex- travagant revenue, and to burden you with taxes beyond the economical wants of the sovernment, is not yet abandoned. The various interests which have combined together to impose a heavy tariff, and to produce an overflowing treasury, are too strong, and have too much at stake, to surrender the contest. The corporations and wealthy individuals who are engaged in large manufacturing establishments, desire a high tariff' to in- crease their gains. Designing politicians will support it to conciliate their favor, and to obtain the means of profuse ex- penditure, for the purpose of purchasing influence in other quarters ; and since the people have decided that the Federal Government cannot be permitted to employ its income in in- ternal improvements, eflforts will be made to seduce and mis- lead the citizens of the several States, by holding out to them the deceitful prospect of benefits to be derived from a surplus revenue collected by the General Government, and annually divided among the States. And if, encouraged by these falla- cious hopes, the States should disregard the principles of econ- omy which ought to characterize every republican government, and should indulge in lavish expenditures exceeding their re- sources, they will, before long, find themselves oppressed with debts which they are unable to pay, and the temptation will become irresistible to support a high tariflT, in order to obtain a surplus distribution. Do not allow yourselves, my fellow- citizens, to be misled on this subject. The Federal Govern- ment cannot collect a surplus for such purposes, without vio- lating the principles of the Constitution, and assuming powers which have not been granted. It is, moreover, a system of in- justice, and, if persisted in, will inevitably lead to corruption, and must end in ruin. The surplus revenue will be drawn from the pockets of the people — from the farmer, the mechan- FAREWELL ADDRESS. 231 ic, and the laboring classes of society ; but who will receive it when distributed among the States, where it is to be disposed of by leading Slate politicians who have friends to favor, and political partisans to gratify? It will certainly not be returned to those who paid it, and who have most need of it, and are honestly entitled to it. There is but one safe rule, and that is, to confine the General Government rigidly within the sphere of its appropriate duties. It has no power to raise a revenue, or impose ta.\es, except for the purposes enumerated in the Con- .stitution; and if its income is found to exceed these wants, it should be forthwith reduced, and the burdens of the people so far lighiened. In revicwMug the conflicts which have taken place between different interests in the United States, and the policy pursued since the adoption of our present form of government, we find nothing that has produced such deep-rooted evil as the course ■ of legislation in relation to the currency. The Constitution of the United States unquestionably intended to secure the people a circulating medium of gold and silver. But the establish- ment of a National Bank by Congress, with the privilege of issuing paper money receivable in paj-mentof the public dues, and the unfortunate cause of legislation in the several States upon the same subject, drove from general circulation the con- stitutional currency, and substituted one of paper in its place. It was not easy for men engaged in the ordinary pursuits of business, whose attention had not been particularly drawn to the subject, to forsee all the consequences of a currency exclu- sively of paper; and we ought not, on that account, to be sur- prised at the facility with which laws were obtained to carry into effect the paper system. Honest, and even enlightened men, arc sometimes misled by the specious and plausible state- ments of the designing. But experience has now proved the mischiefs and dangers of a paper currency, and it rests with you to determine whether the proper remedy shall be applied. The paper sy.stem, being founded on public confidence, and having of it.self no intrinsic value, it is liable to great and sudden fluctuations, thereby rendering property insecure, and ■ the wages of labor unsteady and uncertain. The corporations .which create the paper money cannot be relied upon to keep 232 LIFE OF ANDREW JACIvSON. the circulating medium uniform in amount. In times of pros- perity, when confidence is high, they are tempted by the pros- pect of gain, or by the influence of those who hope to profit by it, to extend their issue of paper beyond the bounds of dis- cretion and the reasonable demands of business. And when these issues have been pushed on, from day to da}', until pub- lic confidence is at length shaken, then a reaction takes place, and they immediately withdraw the credits they have given ; suddenly curtail their issues, and produce an unexpected and ruinous contraction of the circulating medium, which is felt by the whole community. The banks by this means save them- selves, and the mischievous consequences of their imprudence or cupidity arc visited on the public. Nor does the evil stop here. These ebbs and flows in the currency, and these indiscreet ex- tensions of credit, naturally engender a spirit of speculation injurious to the habits and character of the people. We have already seen its eifects in the wild spirit of speculation in the public lands and various kinds of stocks, which within the last year or two, seized upon such a multitude of our citizens and threatened to pervade all classes of society, and to withdraw their attention from the sober pursuits of honest industry. It is not by encouraging this spirit that we shall best preserve public virtue, and promote the true interests of our country. But if your currency continues as exclusively paper as it now is, it will foster this eager desire to amass wealth without labor; it will multiply the number of dependents on bank ac- commodations and bank favors; the temptation to obtain money at any sacrifice, will become stronger and stronger, and inevi- tably lead to corruption, which will find its way into your public councils, and destroy, at no distant day, the purity of your government. Some of the evils which arise from this system of paper, press with peculiar hardship upon the class of society least a,ble to bear it. A portion of this currency fre- quently becomes depreciated or worthless, and all of it is easily counterfeited, in such a manner as to require peculiar skill and much experience to distinguish the counterfeit from the genu- ine notes. These frauds are most generally perpetrated in the smaller notes, which are used in the daily transactions of ordinary FARKWELL ADDRESS. 233 business ; and the losses occasioned by them are commonly thrown upon the laboring classes of society, whose situation and pursuits put it out of their powor to guard themselves from these impositions, and whose daily wages are necessary for their subsistence. It is the duty of every government, so 10 regulate its currency as to protect this numerous class, as far as practicable, from the impositions of avarice and fraud. It is more especially the duty of the United Slates, where the government is emphatically the government of the people, and where this respectable portion of our citizens are so proudly distinguished from the laboring classes of all other nations by their independent spirit, their love of liberty, their intelligence, and their high tone of moral character. Their industry in peace is the source of our wealth ; their bravery in war lias covered us with glory ; and the Government of the United States will but ill discharge its duties, if it leaves them a prey to such dishonest impositions. Yet it is evident that their in- terests cannot be effectually protected, unless silver and gold are restored to circulation. These views, alone, of the paper currency, are sufficient to call for immediate reform; but there is another consideration which should still more strongly press it upon your attention. Recent events have proved that the paper money system of this country may be used as an engine to undermine your free institutions ; and that those who desire to engross all power in the hands of a fev.', and to govern by corruption or force, are aware of its power, and prepared to employ it. Your banks now furnish your only circulating medium, and money is plenty or scarce, according to the quantity of notes issued by them. While they have capitals not greatly disproportion- ate to each other, they are competitors in business, and no one of them can exercise dominion over the rest ; and although, in the present state of the currency, these banks may and do operate injuriously upon the habits of business, the pecuniary concerns, and the moral tone of society ; yet from their num- bers and dispersed situation, they cannot combine for the pur- po.ses of political influence ; and whatever may be the disposi- tion of some of ihem, their power of mischief must necesarily 234 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSOX. be conlined to a narrow space, and felt only in their immediate neighborhoods. But when the charter for the Bank of the United Slates was obtained from Congress, it perfected the schemes of the paper system, and gave to its advocates the position they have strug- gled to obtain from the commencement of the Federal Govern- ment down to the present hour. The immense capital and peculiar privileges bestowed upon it, enabled it to exercise despotic sway over the other banks in every part of the coun- try. From its superior strength, it could seriously injure, if not destroy, the business of any one of them which might in- cur its resentment ; and it openly claimed for itself the power of regulating the currency throughout the United States. In other words, it asserted (and undoubtedly possessed) the power to make money plenty or scarce, at its pleasure, at any time, and in any quarter of the Union, by controlling the issues of other banks, and permitting an expansion, or compelling a general contraction of the circulating medium, according to its Avill. The other banking institutions were sensible of its strength, and they soon generally became its obedient instru- ments, ready at all times to execute its mandates ; and with the banks necessarily went also that numerous class of per- sons in our commercial cities who depend altogether on bank credits for their solvency and means of business, and who are therefore obliged, for their own safety, to propitiate the favor of the money power by distinguished zeal and devotion in its service. The result of the ill-advised legislation which es- tablished this great monopoly, was to concentrate the whole moneyed power of the Union, with its boundless means of corruption, and its numerous dependents, under the direction and command of one acknowledged head ; thus organizing this particular interest as one body, and securing to it unity and concert of action throughout the United States, and ena- bling it to bring forward, upon any occasion, its entire and undivided strength to support or defeat any measure of the Government. In the hands of this formidable power, thus perfectly organized, was also placed unlimited dominion over the amount of the circulating medium, giving it the power to FAREWELL ADDRESS. 235 regulate the value of property and the fruits of labor in every quarter of the Union ; and to bestow prosperity, or bring ruin, upon any city or section of the country, as might best comport with its own interest or policy. We are not left to conjecture how the moneyed power, thus organized, and with such a weapon in its hands, would be likely to use it. The distress and alarm which pervaded and agitated the whole country, when the Bank of the United States waged war upon the people in order to compel them to submit to its demands, cannot yet be forgotten The ruthless and unsparing temper with which whole cities and communi- ties were oppressed, individuals impoverished and ruined, and a scene of cheerful prosperity suddenly changed into one of gloom and despondency, ought to be indelibly impressed on the memory of the people of the United States. If such was its power in a time of peace, what would it not have been in a season of war, with an enem}- at your doors .' No nation but the freemen of the United States could have come out vic- torious from such a contest; yet, if you had not conquered, the Government would have passed from the hands of the ma- ny to the hands of the few ; and this organized money power, from its secret conclave, would have dictated the choice of your highest officers, and compelled you to make peace or war, as best suited their own wishes. The forms of your Govern- ment might for a time have remained, but its living spirit would have departed from it. The distress and sufferings inflicted on the people by the Bank are some of the fruits of that system of policy which is continually striving to enlarge the authority of the Federal Go- vernment beyond the limits fixed by the Constitution. The powers enumerated in that instrument do not confer on Con- gress the right to establish such a corporation as the Bank of the United States: and the evil consequences which followed may warn us of the danger of departing from the true rule of construction, and of permitting temporary circumstances, or the hope of better promoting the public welfare, to influence in any degree our decisions upon the extent of the authority of the General Government. Let us abide by the Constitution 236 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSOxM. as it is written, or amend it in the constitutional mode, if it is found to be defective. The severe lessons of experience will, I doubt not, be suffi- cient to prevent Congress from again chartering such a monop- oly, even if the Constitution did not present an insuperable ob- jection to it. But you must remember, my fellovv'-citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty ; and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. It behooves you, therefore, to be watchful in your States, as well as in the Federal Government. The power which the mon- eyed interests can exercise, when concentrated under a single head and with our present system of currency, was sufficient- ly demonstrated in the struggle made by the Bank of the Uni- ted States. Defeated in the General Government, the same class of intriguers and politicians will now resort to the States, and endeavor to obtain there the same organization, which they failed to perpetuate in the Union ; and with specious and deceitful plans of public advantages, and State interests, and State pride, they will endeavor to establish, in the different States, one moneyed institution with overgrown capital, and exclusive privileges, sufficient to enable it to control the oper- ations of the other Banks. Such an institution will be preg- nant with the same evils produced by the Bank of the United States, although its sphere of action is more confined; and in the State in which it is chartered, the money power will be able to embody its whole strength, and to move together with undivided force, to accomplish any object it may wish to at- ta.in. You have already had abundant evidence of its power to inflict injury upon the agricultural, mechanical, and labor- ing classes of society ; and over those whose engagements in trade or speculation render them depentbnt on bank facilities, the dominion of the State monopoly will be absolute, and their obedience unlimited. ^Vith such a Bank, and a paper curren- cy, the money power would in a few years govern the State and control its measures ; and if a sufficient number of States can be induced to create such establishments, the time will soon come when it will again take the field against the United States, and succeed in perfecting and perpetuating its organi- zation by a charter from Congress. FAREWELL ADDRESS. 237 [t is one of the serious evils of our present system of bank- ing, that it enables one class of society — and that by no means a numerous one — by its control over the currency, to act in- juriously upon the interests of all the others, and to exercise more than its just proportion of influence in political affairs. The agricultural, the mechanical, and the laboring classes, have little or no share in the direction of the great moneyed corpo- rations ; and from their habits and the nature of their pursuits, they are incapable of forming extensive combinations to act together with united force. Such concert of action may some- times be produced in a single city, or in a small district of country, by means of personal communications with each oth- er; but they have no regular or active correspondence with those who are engaged in similar pursuits in distant places ; they have but little patronage to give to the press, and exer- cise but a small share of influence over it ; they have no crowd of dependents about them, who hope to grow rich without la- bor, by their countenance and favor, and who are, therefore, always ready to execute their wishes. The planter, the far- mer, tlic mechanic, and the laborer, all know that their success depends upon their own industry and economy, and that they must not expect to become suddenly rich by the fruits of their toil. Yet these classes of society form the great body of the people of the United States; they are the bone and sinew of the country; men who love liberty, and desire nothing but equal rights and equal laws, and who, moreover, hold the great mass of our national wealth, although it is distributed in moderate amounts among the millions of freemen who possess it. But with overwhelming numbers and wealth on their side, they are in constant danger of losing their fair influence in the Government, and with difliculty maintain their just rights against the incessant eflbrts daily made to encroach upon them. The mischief springs from the power which the moneyed interest derives from a paper currency, which they are able to control, from the multitude of corporations with exclusive privileges, which they have succeeded in obtaining in the dif- ferent States, and which are employed altogether for their ben- 238 l-IFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. efit, and unless you become more watchful in your States, and check this spirit of monopoly and thirst for exclusive privi- leges, you will, in the end, find that the most important pow- ers of government have been given or bartered away, and the control over our dearest interests have passed into the hands of these corporations. The paper money system, and its natural associates, monop- oly and exclusive privileges, have already struck their roots deep in the soil ; and it will require all your efforts to check its farther growth, and to eradicate the evil. The men who profit by the abuses, and desire to perpetuate them, will con- tinue to besiege the halls of legislation in the General Govern- ment, as well as in the States, and will seek, by every arti- fice, to mislead and deceive the public servants. It is to j'our- selves that you must look for safety and the means of guard- ing and perpetuating your free institutions. In your hands if? rightfully placed the sovereignty of the country, and to you every one placed in authority is ultimately responsible. It is always in your power to see that the wishes of the people are carried into faithful execution, and their will, when once made known, must sooner or later be obeyed. And while tho people remain, as I trust they ever will, uncorrupted and in- corruptible, and continue watchful and jealous of their rights, the Government is safe, and the cause of freedom will continue to triumph over all its enemies. But it will require steady and persevering exertions on your part to rid yourselves of the iniquities and mischiefs of the paper system, and to check the spirit of monopoly and other abuses, which have sprung up with it, and of which it is the main support. So many inte- rests are united to resist all reform on this subject that you must not hope the conflict will be a short one, nor success easy. My humble efforts have not been spared, during my adminis- tration of the Government, to restore the constitutional curren- cy of gold and silver ; and something, I trust, has been done toward the accomplishment of this most desirable object. But enough yet remains to require all your energy and perseve- rance. The power, however, is in your hands, and the reme- dy must and will be applied if you determine upon it. FAREWELL ADDRESS. 239^ While I am thus endeavoring to press upon your attention the principles which I deem of vital importance to the domes- tic concerns of the countr)', I ought not to pass over without notice the important considerations which should govern your policy toward foreign powers. It is unquestionably our true interest to cultivate the most friendly understanding vvitji eve- jy nation ; to avoid, by every honorable means, the calamities' of war ; and we shall best attain this object by frankness and sincerity in our foreign intercourse, by the prompt and faithful execution of treaties, and by justice and impartiality in our conduct to all. But no nation, however desirous of peace, can hope to escape collisions with other powers ; and the soundest dictates of policy require that we should place our- selves in a condition to assert our rights, if a resort to force should ever become necessary. Our local situation, our long line of seacoast, indented by numerous bays, v>-ith deep rivers opening into the interior, as well as our extended and still in- creasing commerce, point to the navy as our natural means of defense. It will, in the end, be found to be cheapest and most- effectual ; and now is the time, in the season of peace, and with an overflowing revenue, that we can year after year add to its strength without increasing the burthens of the people. It is your true policy. For j-our navy will not only protect your rich and flourishing commerce in distant seas, but enable you to reach and annoy the enemy, and will give to defense its greatest efficiency by meeting danger at a distance from home. It is impossible by any line of fortifications to guard every point from attack against a hostile force advancing from the ocean and selecting its object; but they are indispenable to protect cities from bombardment; dock-yards and navy arse- nals from destruction ; to give shelter to merchant vessels in time of war, and to single ships or weaker squadrons when pressed by superior force. Fortifications of this description cannot be too soon completed and armed, and placed in a con- dition of the most perfect preparation. The abundant means we now possess cannot be applied in any manner more useful to the country ; and when this is done, and our naval force sufficiently strengthened, and our militaiy armed, we need not 240 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. i'ear that any nation will wantonly iHsnlt iis, or needlessly provoke hostilities. We shall most certainly preserve peace, when it is well understood that we are prepared for Avar. In presenting to you, my fellow-citizens, these parting coun- sels, I have brought before you the leading principles upon which I endeavored to administer the government in the high office with which you twice honored me. Knowing that the path of freedom is continually beset by enemies, who often assume the disguise of friends, I have devoted the last hours of my public life to vfarn you of the dangers. The progress of the United States, under our free and happy institutions, has surpassed the most sanguine liopes of the founders of the Republic. Our growth has been rapid beyond all former ex- ample, in numbers, in wealth, in knowledge, and all the use- ful arts which contribute to the comforts and convenience of man ; and from the earliest ages of history to the present day, there never have been thirteen millions of people associated together in one political body, who enjoyed so much freedom and happiness as the people of these United States. You have no longer any cause to fear danger from abroad ; your strength and j)ower are well known throughout the civilized world, as well as the high and gallant bearing of your sons. It is from within, among yourselves, from cupidity, from cor- ruption, from disappointed ambition, and inordinate thirst for power, that factions will be formed and liberty endangered. It is against such designs, whatever disguise the actors may assume, that you have especially to guard yourselves. You have the highest of human trusts committed to your care. Providence has shoAvered on this favored land blessings Avith- out number, and has chosen you as the guardians of freedom, to preserve it for the benefit of the human race. May He, who holds in his hands the destinies of nations, make you Avorthy of the favors he has bestoAved, and enable you, Avith pure hearts, and pure hands, and sleepless vigilance, to guard and defend to the end of time tlie great charge he has commit- ted to your keeping. My OAvn race is nearly run ; adA'anced age and failing health Avarn me that before long I must pass beyond the reach of hu- DECLINING A SARCOPHAGVS. 241 man events, and cease to feel the vicissitudes of human affairs. I thank God that my life has heen spent in a land of liberty, and that he has given me a heart to love my country ^vith the affection of a son. And filled with gratitude for your constant and unwavering kindness, I bid you a last and affectionate farewell. ANDREW JACKSON. •GENER.VL .lACKi That General Jackson was a marked character — that he had a very remarkable influence over other men's opinions — that Webster's eulogy. 245 he had great perseverance and resolution in civil as well as in military administration, all admit.] Nor do I think that the candid among mankind will ever doubt that it was his desire — mingled with whatsoever portion of a disposition to be him- self instrumental in that exaltation — to elevate his country to the highest prosperity and honor. There is one sentiment, to which I particularly recur, always with a feeling of approba- tion and gratitude. From an earlier period of his undertaking to administer the affairs of the government, he uttered a senti- ment dear to me — expressive of a truth of which I am most profoundly convinced — a sentiment setting forth the necessity, the duty, and the patriotism of maintaining the union of these States. Mr. President, I am old enough to recollect the deaths of all the Presidents of the United States who have departed this life, from Washington down. There is no doubt that the death of an individual, who has been so much the favorite of his country, and partaken so largely of its regard as to fill that high office, always produces— has produced, hitherto, a strong impression upon the public mind. That is right. It is right that such should be the impression upon the whole communi- ty, embracing those who particularly approved, and those who did not particularly approve the political course of the de- ceased. All these distinguished men have been chosen of their coun- try. They have fulfilled their station and duties upon the whole, in the series of years that have gone before us, in a manner reputable and distinguished. Under their administra- tion, in the course of fifty or sixty years, the government, generally speaking, has prospered, and under the government, the people have pro.spered. It becomes, then, all to pay respect when men thus honored are called to another world. Mr. President, we may well indulge the hope and belief, that it was the feeling of the distinguished person who is the subject of these resolutions, in the solemn days and hours of closing life — that it was his wish, if he had committed few or more errors in the administration of the government, their influence might cease with him ; and that whatever of good he had done, might be perpetuated. Let us cherish the same sentiment. Let us act upon the same feeling; and whatever of true honor 246 KEVERDV JOHNSON'S EULOGY. and glory he acquired, let us all hope that it will be his in- heritance forever ! And whatever of good example, or good principle, or good administration, he has established, let us hope that the benefit of it may also be perpetual." REMARKS OF HON. REVERDY JOHNSON, OF MARYLAND. WHIG SENATOR IN CONGRESS, BEFORE THE MARYLAND COURT OF APPEALS, IN ANNOUNCING THE DEATH OF GENERAL JACKSON. May it please the .Court — I rise to announce to the Court the death of a great American, and to ask, in behalf of my brethren of the bar, as a respect justly due to his memory, that the Court at once adjourn. Andrew Jackson is no more. A long and trying illness is at last terminated, and his spirit has winged its flight, I trust, to heaven. The life and character of the deceased have for many years filled a large space in the public eye ; and perhaps no man has ever lived amongst us, whose popularity or influ- ence with the American people was deeper seated, or more commanding. I need not inform the Court, that the administration of the General Government by this eminent citizen, during his Presi- dency, in almost every particular of it, except his noble stand against the perilous and unconstitutional doctrine of nullifica- tion, did not receive the approval of a large political party of the country ; but as a member of that party, I never doubted that he was in heart and soul a patriot, deeply attached to the free institutions under which we live, and ardently solicitous for the honor and prosperity of the nation. It is a redeeming trait in the character of our people, and greatly diminishes the mischiefs of mere party spirit, that we instinctively, when the nation is called upon to vindicate its honor, are found, to a man, united; and that on the death of a great and patriotic citizen, we are alike found, wiihout re- gard to party, joining in a national lamentation at the afflictive event. EA^•CUOFT^S EULOGV. 247 In this instance, there were in the eventful life of the de- ceased, deeds of service rendered the country, by v/hich we all feel that the national glory was eminently subserved. His military course seemed to know no disaster. AVith him, to go to battle was to go to victory. Whether warring at the head of American troops, with the cunning and daring of savage valor, or with the bravery and skill of the best dis- ciplined army of the European world, the result was ever the same — a triumph. The crowning glory of his military life, the B.\TTLE OF New-Orleans, whilst it immeasurably increases the fame of our arms, will, in all future time, serve as a bea- con to pi-otcct our soil from hostile tread. In honor of such a man, it is fit that, in every portion of this great nation, due respect should be shown to his mem.ory ; and I therefore move the Court to gratify the feelings of the bar, as I am sure they will their own, by adjourning for the day. EILOOY O.N ANDREW JACKSON, AT HIS FINEKAL SOLEMNI- TIES AT WASHINGTON, BY HON. GEORGE BANCROFT, SECRETARV OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY. The men of the American Revolution are no more. That age of creative power has passed away. The last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence has long since left the earth. Washington lies near his own Potomac, surrounded by his family and servants. Adams, the colossus of inde- pendence, reposes in the modest grave-yard of his native re- gion. JefTerson sleeps on the heights of his own Monticello, whence his eye overlooked his beloved Virginia. IMadison, the last survivor of the men who made our Constitution, lives only in our hearts. But who shall say that the heroes, in whom the image of God shone most brightly, do not live for ever? They were filled with the vast conceptions which called America into being ; they lived for those conceptions ; and their deeds praise them. 248 BANCROFT'S EULOGY. We are met to commemorate the virtues of one who shed bis blood for our independence, took part in winning the ter- ritory and forming the early institutions of the West, and was imbued with all the great ideas which constitute the moral force of our country. On the spot where he gave his solemn fealty to the people — here, where he pledged himself before the world to Freedom, to the Constitution, and to the laws — we meet to pay our tribute to the memory of the last great name, which gathers round itself all the associations that form tlie glory of America. South Carolina gave a birth-place to Andrew Jackson. On its remote frontier, far up on the forest-clad banks of the Catawba, in a region where the settlers were just beginning to cluster, his eye first saw the light. There his infancy sported in the ancient forests, and his mind was nursed to freedom by their influence. He was the youngest son of an Irish emi- grant, of Scottish origin, who, two years after the great war of Frederic of Prussia, fled to America for relief from indi- gence and oppression. His birth was in 1767, at a time when the people of our land were but a body of dependent colonists, scarcely more than two millions in number, scattered along an immense coast, with no army or navy, or union ; and exposed to the attempts of England to control America by the aid of military force. His boyhood grew up in the midst of the con- test with Great Britain. The first great political truth that reached his heart, was that all men are free and equal ; the. first great fact that beamed on his understanding, was his country's independence. The strife, as it increased, came near the shades of his own upland residence. As a boy of thirteen, he witnessed the scenes of horror that accompany civil war ; and when but a year older, with an elder brother, he shouldered his musket, and. went forth to strike a blow for his country. Joyous era for America and for humanity ! But for him,, the orphan boy, the events were full of agony and grief. His father was no more. His oldest brother fell a victim to the. war of the revolution ; another (his companion in arms) died of wounds received in their joint captivity ; his mother went down to the cirave a victim to grief and efforts to rescue her BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 249 sons; and when peace came, he was alone in the world, with no kindred to cherish him, and little inheritance but his own untried powers. The nation which emancipated itself from British rule or- ganizes itself: the Confederation gives way to the Constitu- tion : the perfecting of that Constitution — that grand event of the thousand years of modern history — is accomplished : Ame- rica exists as a people, gains unity as a government, and takes it.^ place as a nation among the powers of the earth. The lovers of adventure began to pour themselves into the territory, whose delicious climate and fertile soil invited the presence of social man. The hunter with his rifle and his axe, attended by his wife and children ; the herdsman driving the few cattle that were to multiply as they browsed ; the culti- vator of the soil — all came to the inviting region. Wherever the bending mountains opened a pas.s — wherever the buffaloes and the heasts of the forest had made a trace, these sons of nature, children of humanity, in the highest sentiment of per- sonal freedom, came to occupy the beautiful wilderness whose prairies blossomed everywhere profusely with w'ild flowers — whose woods in spring put to shame, by their magnificence^ the cultivated gardens of man. And now that these unlettered fugitives, educated only by the spirit of freedom, destitute of dead letter erudition, but .sharing the living ideas of the age, had made their homes in the West — what would follow .' Would they degrade them- selves to ignorance and infidelity .' Would they make the sol- itudes of the desert excuses for licentiousness .' Would the doctrines of freedom lead them to live in unorganized society, destitute of laws and fi.ved institutions. At a time when European society was becoming broken in pieces, scattered, disunited, and resolved into its elements, a scene ensued in Tennessee, than which nothing more beauti- fully grand is recorded in the annals of the race. These adventurers in the wilderness longed to come together in organized society. The overshadowing genius of their time inspired them with good designs, and filled them with the counsels of wisdom. Dwellers in the forest, freest of the free, bound in the spirit, they came up by their representatives^ 250 BA^■CR0FT'S EULOGY. on foot, on horseback, through the forest, along tlie streams, by the buffalo traces, by the Indian paths, by the blazed forest avenues, to meet in convention among the mountains at Knox- ville, and frame for themselves a Constitution. Andrew Jack- son was there, the greatest man of them all — modest, bold, determined, demanding nothing for himself, and shrinking from nothing that his heart approved. The next great office to be performed by America, is the taking possession of the wilderness. The magnificent West- tern vallej' cried out to the civilization of popular power, that it must be occupied by cultivated man. Behold, then, our orphan hero, sternly earnest, consecrated to humanity from childhood by sorrow, having neither father, nor mother, nor sister, nor surviving brother, so young, and yet so solitary, and therefore bound the more closely to col- lective man — behold him elect for his lot to go forth and assist in laying the foundations of society in the great valley of the Mississippi. At the time when Washington was pledging his own and fu- ture generations to the support of the popular institutions which ■were to be the light of the human race — at the time when the in- stitutions of the Old World were rocking to their centre, and the mighty fabric that had come down from the middle ages was falling in — the adventurous Jackson, in the radiant glory and boundless hope and confident intrepidity of twenty-one, plunged into the wilderness, crossed the great mountain-barrier that di- vides the western waters from the Atlantic, followed the paths of the early hunters and fugitives, and, not content with the nearer neighborhood to his parent State, went still further and further to the west, till he found his home in the most beauti- ful region on the Cumberland. There, from the first, he was recognized as the great pioneer: under his courage, the com- ing emigrants were sure to find a shield. The Convention came together on the 11th day of January, 1796, and finished its work on the 6th day of February. How had the wisdom of the Old World vainly tasked itself to frame constitutions, that could, at least, be the subject of experi- ment ! The men of Tennessee, in less than twenty-five days, perfected a fabric, which, in its essential forms, was to last BAKCROFT"s EULOGY. 251 I'oiever. They came together, full of faith and reverence, vi love to humanity, of conliJence in truth. In the simplicity of wisdom, they framed their Constitution, acting under higher influences than they were conscious of — They wrought in sad sincerity, Tliernselves from God they could not free ; They builded better than they knew — The conscious stones to beauty grew. In the instrument which they framed, they embodied their faith in God, and in the immortal nature of man. They gave the right of sufirage to every freeman ; they vindicated the sanctity of reason, by giving freedom of speech and of the press; they reverenced the voice of God, as it speaks in the soul of man, by asserting the indefeasible right of man to wor- ship the Infinite according to his conscience ; they established the freedom and equality of elections; and they demanded from every future legislator a solemn oath «' never to consent to any act or thing whatever that shall have even a tendency to lesson the rights of the people." These majestic lawgivers, wiser than the Solons, and Ly- curguses, and Numas of the Old World — these prophetic foun- ders of a State, who embodied in their Constitution the sub- limest truths of humanity, acted without reference to human praises. They kept no special record of their doings ; they took no pains to vaunt their deeds ; and wlien their work was done, knew not that they had linished one of the sublimest acts ever performed among men. They left no record, as to whose agency was conspicuous, whose eloquence swayed, whose generous will predominated: nor should we know, but for tra- dition, confirmed by what followed among themselves. The men of Tennessee were now a people, and they were to send forth a man to stand for them in the Congress of the Uni- ted States — that avenue to glory — that home of eloquence — the citadel of popular power ; and, with one consent, they uni- ted in selecting the foremost man among the lawgivers — Andrew J.vckson. The love of the people of Tennessee followed him in the American Congress; and he had served but a single term, 252 BANCROFT'S EULOGY. when the State ol Tennessee made him one of its Representa- tives in the American Senate, where he sat under the auspices of Jefferson. Thus, when he was scarcely more than thirty, he had gui- ded the settlement of the wilderness; swayed the deliberation of a people in establishing its fundamental laws; acted as the representative of that people, and again as the representative of his organized State, disciplined to a knowledge of the pow- er of the people and the power of the States ; the associate of BANCROFT'S EUI.OGV. 267 cultivate his farm, to gather around him liospitably his friends! Who was like him ? He was still the load-star of the Ameri- can people. His fervid thoughts, frankly uttered, still spread the flame of patriotism through the American breast ; his counsels were still listened to with reverence; and almost alone among statesmen, he in his retirement was in harmony with every onward movement of his time. His prevailing influence assisted to sway a neighboring nation to desire to share our institutions ; his car heard the footsteps of coming millions that are to gladden our western shores ; and his eye discerned in the dim distance the whitening sails that are to enliven the waters of the Pacific with the social sounds of our successful commerce. Age had whitened his locks, and dimmed his eye, and spread around him the infirmities and venerable emblems of many years of toilsome service ; but his heart beat as warmly as in his youth, and his courage was as firm as it had ever been in the day of battle. But while his affections were still for his friends and his country, his thoughts were already in a better world. That exalted mind, which in active life had always had unity of perception and will, and which in action had never faltered from doubt, and which in counsel had always reverted to first principles and general laws, now gave itself up to communing with the Infinite. He was a believer — from feeling, from experience, from conviction. Not a shadow of skepticism ever dimmed the lustre of his mind. Proud philo- sopher ! will you smile to know that Andrew Jackson perused reverently his Psalter and Prayer-book, and Bible ? Know that Andrew Jackson had faith in the eternity of truth — in the imperishable power of popular freedom — in the desti of humanity — in the virtues and capacity of the people — in country's institutions — in the being and overruling Providence' of a merciful and ever-living God. The last moment of his life on earth is at hand. It is the sabbath of the Lord: the brightness and beauty of summer clothe the fields around him ; nature is in her glory ; but the sublimest spectacle on that day on earth, was the victory of his unblenching spirit over death itself. When he first felt the hand of death upon him, " May my low -i„ / nies / his/ 268 ■-''''' BANCROFT'S EULOGY. enemies," he cricJ, " jind peace; may the liberties of my country endure for ever." When his exhausted system, under the excess of pain, sunk for a moment, from debility, " Do not weep," said he to his adopted daughter, " my sufferings are less than those of Christ upon the cross ; " for he too, as a disciple of the cross, could have devoted himself, in sorrow, for mankind. Feeling his end near, he would see all of his family once more ; and he spoke to them, one by one, in words of tenderness and affection. His two little grand chil- h'en were absent at Sunday school. He asked for them ; and as they came, he prayed for them, and kissed them, and blessed them. His servants were then admitted ; they gathered, some in his room, and some on the outside of the house, clinging to the windows, that they might gaze and hear. And that dying man, thus surrounded, in a gush of fervid eloquence, spoke with inspiration, of God, of the Redeemer, of salvation through the atonement, of immortality, of heaven. For he ever thought that pure and undefiled religion was the founda- tion of private happiness, and the bulwark of republican in- stitutions. Having spoken of immortality in perfect con- sciousness of his own approaching end, he bade them all fare- well. " Dear children," such were his final words, " dear children, servants and friends, I trust to meet you all in heaven, both white and black — all, both white and black." And hav- ing borne his testimony to immortality, be bowed his mighty head, and without a groan, the spirit of the greatest man of his age escaped to the bosom of his God. In life, his career had been like the blaze of sun in the fierceness of its noon-day glory ; his death was lovely as the mildest sunset of a summer's evening, when the sun goes down in tranquil beauty without a cloud. To the majestic energy of an indomitable will, he joined a heart capable of the purest and most devoted love, rich in the tenderest affec- tions. On the bloody battle-field of Tohopeca, he saved an infant that clung to the breast of its dying mother; in the stormiest moment of his Presidency, at the imminent moment of his decision, he paused in his way, to give counsel to a poor suppliant that had come up to him for succor. Of the strifes in which he was engaged in his earlier life, not one BANCROFT'S EULOGY. 269 sprung from himself; but in every case he became involved by standing forth as the champion of the weak, the poor, and the defenseless, to shelter the gentle against oppression, to pro- tect the emigrant against the avarice of the speculator. His generous soul revolted at the barbarous practice of duels, and by no man in the land have so many been prevented. The sorrows of those that were near to him went deeply into his soul; and at the anguish, of the wife whom he loved, the orphans whom he adopted, he would riielt into tears, and weep and sob like a child. No man in private life so possessed the heart of all around him — no public man of this century ever returned to private life with such an abiding mastery over the affections of the people. No man with truer instinct received American ideas — no man expressed them so completely, or so boldly, or so sincerely. lie was as sincere a man as ever lived. He was wholly, always, and altogether sincere and true. Up to the last, he dared do anything that it was right to do. He united personal courage and moral courage beyond any man of whom history keeps the record. Before the nation, before the world, before coming ages, he stands forth the re- representative, for his generation, of the American mind. And the secret of his greatness is this: By intuitive conception, he shared and posses.=ed all the creative ideas of his country and his time. He expressed them with dauntless intrepidity ; he enforced them with an immovable will ; he executed them with an electric power that attracted and swayed the American people. The nation, in his time, had not one great thought, of which he Avas not the boldest and clearest expositor. XTlistory docs not describe the man that equalled him in firm- £_ne.ss of nerve. Not danger, not an army, in battle array, not wounds, not wide spread clamor, not age, not the anguish of disease, could impair in the least degree the vigor of his stead- fast mind. The heroes of antiquity would have contemplated with awe the unmatched hardihood of his character ; and Na- poleon, had he possessed his disinterested will, could never have been vanquished. Jackson was never vanquished. He was always fortunate. He conquered the wilderness; he conquered the savage ; he conquered the bravest veterans •270 BANCROFT'S EULOGr. trained in the battle fields of Europe ; he conquered every where in statesmanship; and, when death came to get the mas- tery over him, he turned that hist enemy aside as tranquilly as he had done the feeblest of his adversaries, and escape>■ % .>f' X: V -/>. f% ^}W^^'^ %\^^^^^ oo^ ^ -^c ^^;^^.>. v^^^^z^y N^ '^. t*^ " o. ^^'■ ^ ^ '■*/ o. • O' ^- '*;.%,' *.' --?!: •-oo^ A~ .>^^ ■n^^ ^ . ,-^ ,\ ^^ c< c- ,0' " ■S^ -^^ "^^ v^' ^■^^^ '.% K ^"\.. ^^&^.-' .x> ^■ ^, v-i^' o^ .4^ -^c. I ^^„,>^ .^'