KAKl 
 
 UJiiVEKSITY OF CALIFuHlfia 
 DAVIS 
 
 C, K. OGDFAT 
 
 rot 
 
Tresid ent of tKe 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON, 
 
 PRESIDENT 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 ABRIDGED AND COMPILED 
 
 BY WILLIAM COBBETT, M. P. FOR OLDHAM. 
 
 WITH AN INTERESTING FRONTISPIECE, INCLUDING A 
 PORTRAIT. 
 
 lTY OF CALIFORHfil 
 DAVIS 
 
 LONDON : 
 PUBLISHED AT 11, BOLT-COURT, FLEET-STREET; 
 
 AND MAY BE HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLERS. 
 
 1834. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY MILLS, JOWETT, AND MILLS, 
 BOLT-CO OUT, KLEET-9TRBKT. 
 
EXPLANATION OF THE FRONTISPIECE. 
 
 (ABOVE THE PORTRAIT.) 
 
 Part of the City of New Orleans, with the flag of the United 
 States upon the citadel ; surrounded by a rampart of 
 cotton-bags, with the Tennessee militia-men and the 
 other patriot defenders firing from behind the cotton- 
 bags upon the British, who are falling in all quarters 
 and escaping to the sea, whereon some are already in 
 boats, rowing off to the fleet, which is setting sail for 
 Old England. 
 
 N. B. The figure in the foreground, of a man, 
 heels upwards and dying horse under him, represents 
 Packenham, the commander and brother-in-law of 
 Wellington. 
 
 (UNDER THE PORTRAIT.) 
 
 On one side, an Indian Chief, Jianging to a gibbet, his tomahawk, 
 scalping-knife and horn, on the ground. On the other 
 side, a Jew, suspended in like manner, and a bank-note 
 of five dollars lying in the same manner as the mur 
 derous, but less destructive instrument of the savage. 
 
DEDICATION 
 
 TO THE 
 
 WORKING PEOPLE OF IRELAND, 
 
 MY FRIENDS, 
 
 EVER since I became acquainted with the 
 nature and extent of the ill-treatment of the 
 people of Ireland, I have availed myself of 
 every opportunity to endeavour to show, that 
 I held their persecutors in abhorrence. I 
 now dedicate to you a history of the life of the 
 bravest and greatest man now living in this 
 world, or that ever has lived in this world, as 
 far as my knowledge extends. It has given me 
 
 A2 
 
2V DEDICATION. 
 
 pleasure, which I cannot describe, to find that 
 this famous man sprang from poor emigrant 
 Irish parents ; and that he was born in the 
 United States of America two years after the 
 landing of his parents. You will read, with 
 uncommon interest, the clear proof of his having 
 "been urged on to perform the wonderful acts of 
 his life, by his recollection of the ill-treatment 
 of his parents in their native land. For more 
 than two hundred years, the laborious Irish 
 people were scourged, because, and only be 
 cause, they would not apostatize from the reli 
 gion of their fathers; and, even unto this day, 
 every effort is made to keep them down, and 
 to represent them as an inferior race of men. 
 It is, therefore, in the name of truth and of 
 justice, that I send this book forth amongst the 
 people of this whole kingdom, to prove to them, 
 that this ill-treated Ireland, this trampled-upon. 
 Ireland, has produced the greatest soldier and 
 the greatest statesman, whose name has ever 
 yet appeared upon the records of valour and of 
 wisdom. According to all the laws of all na- 
 
DEDICATION. V 
 
 tions, a man, though born in a foreign country, 
 if born of parents natives of another country, is 
 a native of the country to which the parents 
 belong. Thus this famous man is an Irishman; 
 and, I beseech you to look at his deeds, and to 
 applaud that just Providence, which has made 
 him an instrument, though in a manner so 
 indirect, of assisting to avenge the manifold 
 wrongs of ill-treated Ireland. 
 I am, 
 Your faithful friend 
 
 and most obedient servant, 
 
 WM. COBBETT. 
 
 Bolt Court, 27th March, 1834. 
 
I 
 PREFACE 
 
 AMONGST all the duties of men who meddle with 
 public affairs, and who have any portion of the press at 
 their command, no one is more obligatory upon them 
 than that of endeavouring, by all the means that they 
 have in their power, to do justice to the character and 
 conduct of those, who, during their own time especially, 
 have rendered eminent services in the cause of public 
 justice arid public liberty; and, amongst all the men 
 who have distinguished themselves in this way, in the 
 present age, I know of no one who can challenge any 
 thing like an equality with him, whose life and actions 
 are the subject of the following pages. 
 
 There may have been men placed in situations as 
 difficult and as dangerous as those in which he has 
 been placed. There may have been men who have 
 shown courage, fortitude, perseverance, and resolution, 
 equal to those shown by him. This may be ; but, at 
 the end of pretty nearly seventy years of observing, of 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 hearing^ and of reading, I declare most explicitly, I 
 have never seen, never heard of, and never read of, any 
 man equal to the President in these prime and admi 
 rable qualities. These pages trace him from the spade 
 and the plough to the musket carried against invaders, 
 aiming at the destruction of the liberties of his country : 
 from the musket they take him back to his books ; then 
 take him to the bar; then place him on the bench; 
 then send him to the senate ; afterwards lead us to see 
 him on his farm, whence, when another invasion of his 
 country took place, they show him quitting his beloved 
 fields, again rushing to meet hostile foes ; and, having 
 delivered his country of those foes, we are led with him 
 back again to his farm^ whence he is again called to 
 take upon him the chief magistracy of a great and 
 opulent and a free country, and that, too, by the una 
 nimous voice of millions of free men. 
 
 Thus honoured; thus confided in; thus placed in 
 a more honourable situation than any other man upon 
 the face of the earth, we see him acting a part worthy 
 of his high station. The angry, the bitter, the impla 
 cable, the heretofore-deemed-all-powerful British go 
 vernment, he had repulsed ; he had humbled : the 
 savage tribes, the cannibal foes of his country, he 
 had scourged with rods of scorpions; if he had not 
 tamed them into humanity, he had made fear sheathe 
 their hatchets and their scalping knives : but, in hia 
 capacity of chief magistrate ; in his capacity of chief 
 guardian of the civil and political rights, and of the 
 property and lives of his countrymen, he had to deal 
 with a monster more formidable, and more destructive 
 
PREFACE. -re 
 
 to the people, than either the British or the savages : <i 
 monster perfectly insatiable ; hypocritical as the cro,- 
 codile ; delusive as the syren ; and deadly as the rattle 
 snake itself. The monster of paper money he has now 
 to encounter. This is his last great labour : if this 
 monster fall beneath him, no pen, no tongue,, no vehicle 
 of praise can ever render justice to his name. Some 
 poet has said, that the grandest spectacle that the human 
 mind can conceive is, " a great man struggling with 
 the storms of fate." It is a greater still to see a great 
 man struggling ; to see the greatest of men now alive, 
 struggling with the most cruel and destructive monster 
 that ever the Almighty, in his just displeasure, per 
 mitted to be the scourge of offending nations. 
 
 It is with no small delight that I see, in the following 
 pages, proofs undeniable of the superiority of nature 
 over art, of genius over rank and over riches : it is 
 with pride, and with just pride, I trust, that I behold 
 all that is great in the character of man, springing out 
 of the humble homestead ; but it is with still greater,, 
 and with inexpressible delight, that I see it spring from 
 poor IRISH EMIGRANT PARENTS, driven from 
 their native land by its inexorable oppressors. Ah ! 
 God is just, in spite of our ungrateful impatience. No 
 man living ever did so much to humble England as 
 ANDREW JACKSON ; and these pages w r ill show us how 
 his zeal was sharpened, how his anger was pointed, by 
 the lessons taught him by his ill-treated parents, and 
 by the cruelty and insolence which he had to endure 
 from the same source. Arrogance and injustice, wheit 
 associated with power, never listen to reason or remon- 
 
 A 5 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 strance as long as the power lasts. If they were 
 capable of listening, I would bid the oppressors of the 
 poor people of Ireland to read these pages ; and to 
 remember that the country which produced ANDREW 
 JACKSON, still retains the faculty of giving life to other 
 such men. 
 
 WM. COBBETT. 
 
 Bolt Court, London, 27th March, 1834. 
 
 N. B. The Table of Contents and other references will be found at 
 the end of the volume. The paragraphs are numbered for the purpose of 
 reference. 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 FROM 1767 TO 1812. 
 
 1767. His birih and parentage. 1781. Enters the American revolutionary 
 army. Cruelty of a British officer. Death of his brother and mother. 
 His sufferings, 1784. Studies the law in North Carolina. Continues 
 there till 1788. 1788. Settles in Tennessee as a barrister. Distinguishes 
 himself in fighting the Indians. 1796. Chosen a member of the Tennessee 
 Convention. Elected a member of Congress. 1797. Chosen a Senator of 
 the Congress. 1798. Made major-general of Tennessee. Resigns his seal 
 in the senate. 1799. Appointed a judge of the supreme court. Soon re 
 signs and retires to his farm, where he remains till the breaking out of the 
 war, in 1812, between the United States and Great Britain. 
 
 I. ANDREW JACKSON was 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, 
 bringing with him two sous, Hugh and Robert, both very 
 young. Landing at Charleston, in South Carolina, he shortly 
 afterwards 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 
 after his birth, his father died, leaving three sons to be provided 
 for by their mother. She appears to have been an exemplary 
 woman, and to have executed the arduous duties which had 
 devolved on her, with great faithfulness and with much success. 
 To the lessons she inculcated on the youthful minds of her 
 
12 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap* 
 
 sons, was, no doubt, owing, in a great measure, that fixed oppo 
 sition to British tyranny and oppression, which afterwards so' 
 much distinguished them. Often would she spend the winter's 
 evenings in recounting to them the sufferings of their grand 
 father at the siege of Carrickfergus, and the oppressions exer 
 cised by the nobility of Ireland, over the labouring poor; 
 impressing it upon them, as a first duty, to expend their lives, 
 if it should become necessary, in defending and supporting the 
 natural rights of man. 
 
 2. 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 on 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 ardour of his 
 temper, deriving encouragement from the recommendations of 
 his mother, whose feelings were not less alive on the occasion 
 than his own ; and excited by those, sentiments in favour of 
 liberty, with which, by her conversation, his mind had been 
 early endued, quickly determined him in the course to be pur 
 sued ; and at the tender age of fourteen, accompanied by his 
 brother Robert, he hastened to the American 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. 
 
 3. 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 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 4. The Americans being unequal, as well from the inferiority 
 of their numbers as their dicipline, to engage the British army 
 in battle, had retired before it into the interior of North Caro 
 lina ; 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 Rawdon in possession 
 
I.] BIRTH AND PARENTAGE. 13 
 
 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 immediately dispatched 
 thither, with a corps of light dragoons, a company of infantry, 
 and a considerable number of tories, for their capture and de 
 struction. 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 was com 
 pletely deceived, having taken them for Captain Nisbet's com 
 pany, in expectation of which they had been waiting. Eleven 
 of them were taken prisoners ; the rest with difficulty fled, 
 scattering and betaking themselves to the woods for conceal 
 ment. 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 neigh 
 bouring house, for the purpose of procuring something to eat, 
 they were broken in upon, and made prisoners, by Coffin'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, on the 
 road which led by the house, a sentinel, that they might have 
 information of any approach, and in time to be able to elude it e 
 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 deposited, and taken possession of them. 
 Having done this, they approached cautiously the house, and 
 were almost at the door before they were discovered. To escape 
 was impossible, 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 crossing the creek. This order he positively and peremp 
 torily refused to obey ; alleging that he looked for such treat 
 ment as a prisoner of war had a right to expect. Incensed at 
 his refusal, the officer aimed a blow at his head with a drawn 
 sword, which 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 bears 
 
14 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 to this hour. His brother, at the same time, for a similar 
 offence, received a deep cut on the head, which subsequently 
 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 Camden, when, in con 
 sequence of a partial exchange, effected by the intercessions and 
 exertions of their mother, and Captain Walker, of the militia, 
 they were both released from confinement. Captain Walker 
 had, in a charge on the rear of the British army, succeeded in 
 making thirteen prisoners, whom he gave in exchange for seven 
 Americans, of which number were these two young men. Ro 
 bert, during his confinement 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 the grave. To add to 
 the afflictions of Andrew, his mother, worn down by grief, and 
 her incessant exertions to provide clothing and other comforts 
 for the suffering prisoners, who had been taken from her neigh 
 bourhood, expired in a few weeks after her son, near the lines 
 of the enemy, 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 
 whilst 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 a near relationship. The small -pox, 
 about the same time, having made its appearance upon him, had 
 well nigh terminated his sorrows and his existence. 
 
 5. Having at length recovered from his complicated afflic 
 tions, he entered upon the enjoyment of his estate, which, 
 althoug'h small, would have been sufficient, under prudent ma 
 nagement, to have completed his education, on the liberal scale 
 which his mother had designed. Unfortunately, however, he, 
 like too many young men, sacrificing future prospects to present 
 gratification, expended it with rather too profuse a hand. 
 Coming, 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 his studies with increased industry. 
 He re-commenced under Mr. M'Culloch, in that part of Caro 
 lina which 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. 
 
 6. His education being now completed, so far as his wasted 
 patrimony, and the limited opportunities then afforded in that 
 section of the country, would permit, at the age of eighteen, he 
 
I.] STUDIES THE LAW. 15 
 
 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 abandoned 
 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 ob 
 tained a license from the judges to practise law, and continued 
 in the state until the spring of 1788. 
 
 7. 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 a solitary indi 
 vidual in life, without relations to aid him in the onset, when 
 innumerable difficulties arise and retard success, he determined 
 to seek a new country. But for this, he might have again 
 returned to his native state ; the death, however, of every rela 
 tion he had, had wiped away all those endearing recollections 
 and circumstances which warp the mind to the place of its nati 
 vity. The western parts of the state of Tennessee were, about 
 this time, often spoken of, as presenting nattering pros 
 pects to adventurers. He immediately determined to accom 
 pany Judge M'Nairy thither, who had been appointed, and was 
 g'oing out to hold the first supreme court that had ever sat. in 
 the state. Having reached the Holston, they ascertained it 
 would be impossible to arrive at the time appointed for the ses 
 sion of the court ; and therefore determined to remain in that 
 section of country until fall. They re-commenced 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 Tennessee 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 suceess 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 anen of the place, 
 adventurers from different sections 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 
 
16 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 business ; the consequence was, that the merchants were en 
 tirely deprived of the means of enforcing- against those gentle 
 men the execution of their contracts. In this state of things, 
 Jackson made his appearance at Nashville, and while the credi 
 tor class looked to it with great satisfaction, the debtors were 
 sorely displeased. Applications were immediately made to him 
 for his professional services, and on the morning after his arri 
 val he issued seventy writs. To those prodigal gentlemen it was 
 an alarming 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 to be resorted to. This, 
 however, was soon abandoned ; satisfied, by the first controversy 
 in which they had involved him, that his decision and firmness 
 were such as to leave no hope of effecting any thing through this 
 channel. Disregarding the opposition raised to him, he con 
 tinued, with care and industry, to press forward in his profes 
 sional course ; and his attention soon brought him forward, and 
 introduced him to a profitable practice. Shortly afterwards, he 
 was appointed attorney general for the district, in which capacity 
 he continued to act for several years. 
 
 8. 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 security 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 harassed the frontiers, and not unfrequently ap 
 proached 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. 
 
 9. In the year 1796, 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 convention, 
 for establishing a constitution for the state. His good conduct 
 and zeal for the public interest, and the republican feelings and 
 sentiments which were conspicuously disclosed in the formation 
 and arrangement of this instrument, brought him more promi 
 nently to view ; and, without proposing or soliciting, he was, 
 in the same year, elected a member of the house of represen 
 tatives, in congress, for the state of Tennessee. The following- 
 year, his reputation continuing to increase, and every bosom 
 feeling a wish to raise him to still higher honours, he was chosen 
 a senator of the United States congress, and took his seat on 
 
I.] RETIRES TO HIS FARM. 17 
 
 the 22nd day of November, 1797. About the middle of April, 
 business of an important 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 and 
 feeling have been manifested through the country, was introduced 
 into the senate, by Mr. Lloyd, of Maryland, in June 1798, and 
 passed that body on the 4th of July following ; hence the name 
 of Jackson, owing to the leave of absence which had been 
 granted him in April, does not appear 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. 
 
 10. The state of Tennessee, on its admission into the Union, 
 comprising but one military division, and General Conway, wha 
 commanded it, as major-general, dying about this time, Jack 
 son, without being consulted on the subject, and without the 
 least intimation of what was in agitation, was, as the constitu 
 tion of the state directs, chosen by the field officers to succeed 
 him ; which appointment he continued to hold until May, 1814, 
 when he was constituted a major-general in the United States* 
 service. 
 
 11. Becoming tired of political life, for the intrigues 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 May for General Smith, who, he con 
 jectured, would in that capacity be able to render more im 
 portant services to the government than himself. His country, 
 unwilling that his talents should remain inactive and unem 
 ployed, again demanded his services. Immediately 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 acquirements, and impressed with 
 the great injury he might produce to suitors, by erroneous deci 
 sions, 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 im 
 portant duties. Unambitious of these distinctions and honours 
 which young men are usually proud to possess ; finding too 
 that his circumstances and condition in life were not such as to 
 permit his time and attention to be devoted to public matters, he 
 
18 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 determined to yield them into others' hands, and to devote him 
 self to agricultural pursuits ; and accordingly settled himself on 
 an excellent farm, ten miles from Nashville, on the Cumberland 
 river; where, for several years, he enjoyed all the comforts of 
 domestic and social intercourse. Abstracted from the busy 
 scenes of public life, pleased with retirement, surrounded by 
 friends whom he loved, and who entertained for him the highest 
 veneration and respect, and blessed with an amiable and obe 
 dient wife, nothing seemed wanting to the completion of that 
 happiness which he so anxiously desired whilst in office. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FROM THE BEGINNING OF 1812, TO THE MONTH OF MAY 
 OF THAT YEAR. 
 
 He is roused from his retirement by the war with Great Britain. Assembles 
 2500 volunteers. Descends the Mississippi 300 miles. Encamps near 
 the Notches, to be leady to defend that part of the country from invaders. 
 'Jlie danger of invasion appears to be removed . Is ordered to give up 
 his stores to tJie regular army stationed there. Refuses to comply icith the 
 order. Fulfils itis compact with his volunteers, by taking tliem buck 
 safely to tJieir own homes. 
 
 12. 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 sound people of that country for the purpose, 
 declared war against Great Britain, on the grounds clearly set 
 forth in my " History of the Regency and Reign of George the 
 Fourth,'" and particularly in the paragraph 297 of that history. 
 
 13. The government of the United States, during the same 
 year in which they declared the war, made preparations for calling 
 out volunteers for the defence of the country. JACKSON, then 
 happy on his farm, in the neighbourhood of Nashville, which 
 lies about the middle of the fine State of Tennessee, which is 
 bounded to the north by Kentucky, to the east by the Alle- 
 gany mountains, to the south by the States of Georgia, Ala 
 bama, and Mississippi, and to the west by the great river Mis- 
 
II.] RE-ENTERS PUBLIC LIFE. 19 
 
 sissippi ; 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 ; retired, as he thought, for ever, was again roused by the 
 insults 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 could have forgotten the horrid account 
 of the injuries inflicted upon the country of his father and his 
 mother, there was that scar on his hand, inflicted by a British 
 officer, who had aimed a blow at his life, because he had refused 
 to clean the dirt off his boots ; there was that scar to keep his 
 virtuous resentment alive, even if he could have forgotten the 
 wrongs of Ireland, and the ruin and extermination of every re. 
 lation in the world. 
 
 14. 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 MADISON) to accept of the services of 
 fifty thousand volunteers, he addressed the citizens of his divi 
 sion, and twenty-five 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 defence of the lower country, 
 which was then supposed to be in danger. Accordingly, on the 
 10th of December, 1812, those troops rendezvoused at Nash 
 ville, prepared to advance to the place of their destination ; 
 and, although the weather was then excessively severe, and the 
 ground covered with snow, no troops could have displayed 
 greater firmness. The general was everywhere with them, 
 inspiring them with the ardour that animated his own bosom. 
 The cheerful spirit with which they submitted to hardships, and 
 bore privations, on the very onset of their military career, as 
 well as the order and subordination they so readily observed, 
 were happy presages of what was to be expected, when they 
 should be directed to face an enemy. 
 
 15. Natches is a town on the banks of the Mississippi, full 
 three hundred miles from Nashville, and about a hundred miles 
 from New Orleans, which is near the mouths of the Missis 
 sippi. Natches was the place of rendezvous. He arrived there 
 in the month of January; and, very soon afterwards, there 
 took place a transaction which gave the government of the 
 United States a specimen of that inflexibility of character in 
 him, which has since been so fully developed, under circum- 
 
20 LIFE OF JACKSON*. [Chap. 
 
 stances of greater peril than any other man has ever had to 
 encounter. 
 
 16. Having procured supplies, and made the necessary 
 arrangements 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 at 
 Natches. 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, with the 
 utmost industry, to training and preparing them for active ser 
 vice. 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 command from service, and 
 to take measures for delivering over every article of public pro 
 perty, in his possession, to Brigadier-General Wilkinson. When 
 this order reached his camp, there were one hundred and fifty 
 on the sick report, fifty-six of whom were unable to raise their 
 heads, and almost the whole of them destitute of the means of 
 defraying the expenses of their return. The consequence of a 
 strict compliance with the secretary's order, inevitably would 
 have been, that many of the sick must have perished, whilst 
 most of the others, from their destitute condition, would, of ne 
 cessity, 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 ; lie 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 com 
 pelled into the regular ranks, had formed any part of the motive 
 that occasioned the order for their discharge, at so great a dis 
 tance from home, cannot be known ; and it would be unchari 
 table to insinuate against the government so serious and foul 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 march 
 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 his neighbours and acquaint- 
 
II.] RESISTS THE GOVERNMENT. 21 
 
 ances, who had delivered them into his hands, as to a guardian, 
 who, with parental solicitude, would watch over and protect 
 their welfare. To have abandoned them, therefore, at such a 
 time, and under such circumstances, would have drawn on him 
 the merited censure of the most deserving* part of his fellow- 
 citizens, and sensibly wounded his own generous feelings. Add 
 to this, those young- men who were confined by sickness, learn 
 ing the nature of the order he had received, implored him, with 
 tears in their eyes, not to abandon them in so great an ex 
 tremity, reminding him, at the same time, of his assurances, 
 that he would be to them as a father; and of the implicit con 
 fidence 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 con 
 siderations ; but, influenced by them all, he had no hesitation 
 in coming to a determination. 
 
 17. 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 se 
 cret caucus, and proceeded to recommend to him an abandon 
 ment of his purpose, and an immediate discharge of his troops. 
 Great as was the astonishment which this measure 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 un 
 fortunate soldier, who was alike destitute of both, no measure 
 could be more calamitous. He concluded by telling them, that 
 his resolution not having been hastily concluded on, nor bot 
 tomed on light considerations, was unalterably fixed ; and that 
 immediate preparations must be made for carrying into execu 
 tion the determination he had formed. 
 
 18. 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 re 
 ceived it. He painted in strong terms the evils which the course 
 pursued by the government was calculated to produce, and ex 
 pressed the astonishment he felt, that it should have originated 
 with the once redoubted advocate of soldiers' rights. 
 
 19. General Wilkinson, to whom the public property was 
 directed to be 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 necessary to 
 their return, in a letter of solemn and mysterious import, ad- 
 
22 . LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 monished him of the consequences which were before him, and 
 of the awful and dangerous responsibility he was taking on him 
 self 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 pre 
 pared 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. 
 
 20. The quarter-master, having been ordered to furnish the 
 necessary transportation, for the conveyance of the sick and the 
 baggage to Tennessee, immediately set about the performance 
 of the task ; but, as the event proved, with not the least inten 
 tion of executing it Still, he continued to keep up the sem 
 blance of exertion ; and the better to deceive, the very day be 
 fore that which had been appointed for breaking up the encamp 
 ment, and commencing the return march, eleven wagons arrived 
 there by his order. The next morning, however, when every 
 thing was about to be packed up, acting doubtless from orders, 
 and intending to produce embarrassment, the quarter-master 
 entered the encampment, and discharged 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 instructed to effect. Disregard 
 ing 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 to the trans 
 portation of his sick. It deserves to be recollected, that this 
 quarter-master, so soon as he received directions for furnishing 
 transportation, had dispatched an express to General Wilkinson : 
 and there can be but little doubt, that the course of duplicity he 
 afterwards pursued, was a concerted plan between him and that 
 general, to defeat the design of Jackson ; compel him to aban 
 don the course he had adopted ; and, in this way, draw to the 
 regular army many of the soldiers, v^ho, from necessity, would 
 be driven to enlist. In this attempt, they were fortunately dis 
 appointed. 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 in 
 structed. 
 
II.] RETURNS WITH HIS VOLUNTEERS. 23 
 
 21. 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, 
 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 placed before his troops an example of 
 patience and 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 neces 
 sary, he had sufficient grounds on which he could have justified 
 his conduct. Had he suffered General Wilkinson to have accom 
 plished what was clearly his intention, althoug'h it was an event 
 which might at the moment have benefited 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 beholding the 
 patriots of the country drawn off from their homes, under pre 
 tence of danger ; whilst the concealed design was, by increasing 
 their necessities, at a distance from their residence, to compel 
 them to an act which they would have abstained from under 
 different circumstances. His conduct, terrible as it first ap 
 peared, was in the end approved, and the expenses incurred 
 directed to be paid by the government. 
 
 22. It may be prudent, and it is doubtless patriotic, to smo 
 ther this affair up in this manner, in the United States, and 
 especially when the writer is a member of the congress ; but I 
 have no motive to smother up a transaction so abominably 
 unjust. The truth is, that this odious attempt at a violation of 
 compact, arose from the dirty envy of General Armstrong, the 
 secretary at war, of Wilkinson, the commanding general, and 
 of all those officers of the United States army who had not the 
 courage to imitate ; who had not the skill and perseverance to 
 rival ; and who had not the honesty to acknowledge the superior 
 merit of Jackson. Every man, whose heart is the seat of jus 
 tice, will applaud him for stubbornly resisting these crafty sug 
 gestions of envy ; and it should be told here, that Armstrong, 
 who gave the order for this act of oppression, was disgraced and 
 
24 LIFE OF JACKSON. . [Chap. 
 
 degraded, not many months afterwards, for his scandalous 
 neglect to prepare for the defence of the city of Washington, 
 where he was residing-; and that Wilkinson, who was appointed 
 to put the order into execution, and to supplant Jackson, was 
 sufficiently disgraced, in less than two years from that day, on 
 the confines of Canada. But there never was a man yet, in this 
 world, whom every one knew to be full of talent, full of zeal, 
 and devotedly disinterested to the cause of his country : there 
 never yet was such a man who was not hated and conspired 
 against by all the swarm of men of small merit, and, especially, 
 by every selfish and sham patriot. 
 
 CHAPTER II F. 
 FROM MAY, 1813, TO APRIL, 1314. 
 
 His Indian campaign. ftattle after battle. Discontent in Jtis army after 
 discontent. Pruof after proof of fortitude and resolution t each meriting 
 the admiration of ail mankind. 
 
 23. JACKSON, having taken his volunteers safely back to their 
 own country, he discharged them, there being little or no expec 
 tation 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 rendezvous, 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 first 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. 
 
 24. There was, at this time (May 1813), no appearance 
 that British hostility would bear against any part of Lousiana, 
 in which New Orleans is situated But the repose of Jackson 
 and his volunteers was not ol long duration ; for the savages, 
 instigated by an impostor who went amongst them calling him 
 self a prophet, who gave them assurances of the aid and protec 
 tion of Great Britain, whose power and riches he represented as 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 25 
 
 without bounds : the savages thus instigated, these wretches, of 
 several different nations, as they are called, made incursions into 
 the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and other parts, committing: 
 murders and cruelties the most horrible ; they slaughtered 
 women and children with the most savage barbarity. It was 
 absolutely necessary to punish these bloody monsters ; and, 
 therefore, first the government of the state of Tennessee, and, 
 afterwards, the general government, authorized war and an 
 infliction of punishment on these monsters ; and all eyes were 
 turned upon Jackson to put an end to this horrible wari'are. 
 
 24. He, therefore, called upon his volunteers, who had fol 
 lowed him to the Natches in the spring of the year ; and he 
 appointed the 4th of October (1813) for them to meet him, 
 armed and equipped for active service. He immediately com 
 menced war upon these murderous savages ; and here I must 
 desire the English reader to prepare himself for a series of trans 
 actions, wholly incredible, wer$ they not attested by piles of 
 official documents, the authenticity of which no man can dispute. 
 It would be useful to the English government, the English par 
 liament, and bands of paper-money makers, who are looking to 
 legal tender ; it would be useful to them to look minutely at the 
 transactions of this Indian campaign ; for, having looked at 
 them, they will perceive that it is madness to suppose, that all the 
 combinations of banks, and bankers, and merchants, can ever 
 drive this brave and inflexibly virtuous man from his purpose. 
 
 25. Before I lay before the reader the details of this cam 
 paign, it will be useful to give a short description of the geogra 
 phy of the scene. The great river Mississippi, which comes 
 down from fifteen or sixteen hundred miles, then is joined by the 
 Ohio, and carries it along with it five or six hundred miles, 
 down to its mouths, which empty themselves in the Gulf of 
 Mexico ; this great river bounds to the westward the states of 
 Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and it runs through the state 
 of Louisiana. The nations of savages, called by various names, 
 Creeks, Cherokees, Chocktaws, Chickesau-s, Bayous, and God 
 knows what besides, live in the woods and fastnesses in these 
 states, or in those on the western side of the Mississippi ; there 
 fore, to leave the people of the United States exposed to the 
 tomahawks of these bloody monsters would have b^en scandalous 
 indeed. Jackson was the man chosen to chastise them ; and in. 
 the wonderful details which I am now about to lay before the 
 reader, it will be seen that not another man that we have ever 
 heard of would have been capable of performing this duty with 
 success ; and when the reader has gone through these details, 
 
26 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap, 
 
 and has afterwards witnessed the glorious defence of New 
 Orleans, he will still recur to this Indian campaign as the most 
 glorious exploit of this wonderful man ; a campaign meriting 
 greater praise than ten thousand lives like that of Wellington, 
 and yet a campaign which was never yet heard of in England ; 
 this country of learning, of literature, of researches, and of 
 knowledge of all sorts ; this country which has poured out tra 
 vellers to penetrate into every part of the United States, but 
 which has never sent one to discover and send home an-account 
 of this campaign. With these preliminary remarks I enter 
 upon the details of this campaign. I need not bespeak the 
 reader's wonder and admiration ; for the man who will not 
 admire here, is hardly worthy of the name of man. 
 
 26. These multiplied outrages at length attracted the atten 
 tion of the general government, and application was made, 
 through their agent (Colonel Hawkins), to the principal chiefs 
 of the nation, who, desirous o preserving their friendly rela 
 tions 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 civil war. 
 
 27. It was not difficult for the friends of those murderers 
 who had been put to death, to prevail on others, who secretly 
 applauded the acts for which they suffered, to enter warmly into 
 their resentments against those who had been concerned in 
 bringing 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 re 
 garded with much difficulty, they now resolved to lay aside, and 
 to execute at once their insatiate and long-projected vengeance, 
 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* 
 
 * Instruments used by the Indian tribes on commencing; hostilities ; 
 and which, when painted red, they consider a declnration of war. They 
 are formed of a stick, about eighteen im-htgin length, with a strong piece 
 of sharp iron affixed at the end, and resemble a hatchet. They use them 
 principally in pursuit, and after they have been able to introduce confu 
 sion into the ranks of an enemy. 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 27 
 
 were immediately seen in every section of the nation, but 
 more particularly among 1 the numerous hordes residing 1 near the 
 Alabama. Brandishing 1 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 themselves in forts, to escape the first ebullition of 
 their rage. Encourag-ed by this success, and their numbers, 
 which hourly increased, and infatuated to the highest degree by 
 the predictions of their prophets, who assured them that " the 
 Great Spirit " was on their side, and would enable them to tri 
 umph over all their enemies, they began to make immediate 
 preparations for extending their ravag-es to the white settle 
 ments. Fort Mimms, situated in the Tensaw settlement in the 
 Mississippi 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 1 collected a sup 
 ply of ammunition from the Spaniards at Pensacola, and assem 
 bled their warriors to the number of six or seven hundred, the 
 war party, commanded by Weatherford, a distinguished chief 
 of the nation, on the 30th of August 1813, commenced tlieir 
 assault on the fort ; and having 1 succeeded in carrying it, put to 
 death nearly three hundred persons, including 1 women and chil 
 dren, with the most savage barbarity. The slaug-hter was indis 
 criminate j mercy was extended to none ; and the 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 catastrophe. This monstrous and 
 unprovoked outrag-e no sooner reached Tennessee than the 
 whole state was thrown into a ferment, and nothing- was thought 
 or spoken of but retaliatory vengeance. Considerable excite 
 ment had already been produced by brutalities of earlier date, 
 and measures had been adopted by the g'overnor, in conformity 
 with instructions from the secretary of war, for commencing a 
 campaig'n 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 univer 
 sal 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 discharg-e the arduous 
 
28 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 duties of the station, and who could carry with him the com 
 plete confidence of his soldiers. He was at this time seriously 
 indisposed, and confined to his room with a fractured arm ; but 
 although this apprehension was seriously indulged, arrange 
 ments were in progress, and measures industriously taken, to 
 prepare and press the expedition with every possible dispatch. 
 
 28. A numerous collection of respectable citizens, who con 
 vened at Nashville on the 18th of September 1813, for the pur 
 pose of devising the most effectual ways and means of affording 
 protection to their brethren in distress, after conferring with 
 the governor and General Jackson, who was still confined to his 
 room, strongly advised the propriety of marching a sufficient 
 army into the heart of the Creek nation ; and accordingly 
 recommended this measure with great earnestness to the legis 
 lature, which, in a few days afterwards, 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. 
 
 29. Additional reasons were at hand why active operations 
 should be commenced with the least possible delay. The set 
 tlers were fleeing to the interior, and every day brought intelli 
 gence, 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, not 
 withstanding the state of his health, had determined to assume 
 the command, requiring him to call out, and rendezvous at 
 Fayetteville, in the shortest possible time, two thousand 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 regi 
 ment, any mounted riflemen that might make a tender of their 
 services. 
 
 .30. 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 Natches. He urged 
 them to appear at the place designated for the rendezvous, on 
 the 4th of October, 1813, equipped and armed for active ser 
 vice. He pointed out the imperious necessity which demanded 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 29 
 
 their services, and urged them to be punctual ; for that their 
 frontiers were threatened with invasion by a savage foe. " Al 
 ready are large bodies of the hostile Creeks marching 1 to your 
 borders, with their scalping knives unsheathed, to butcher your 
 women and children : time is not to be lost. We must hasten 
 to the frontier, or we shall find it drenched in the blood of our 
 citizens. The health of your general is restored he will com 
 mand 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 for 
 ward to the neighbourhood of Huntsville, and occupy some 
 eligible position for the defence of the frontier, until the infantry- 
 should arrive ; when it was contemplated, by the nearest pos 
 sible route to press on to Fort St. Stephen, with a view to the 
 protection and defence of Mississippi. 
 
 31. Every exertion was now made to hasten the preparations 
 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 sup 
 plies of provisions. The day of their rendezvous being arrived, 
 and the general not being sufficiently recovered to attend in 
 person, he forwarded by his aid-de-camp, Major Reid, an ad 
 dress, 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 in 
 flicted by this horde of merciless and cruel savages ; and in- 
 treated his soldiers to evince that zeal in the defence 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 re 
 dress them. They stand in need of such warning. In propor 
 tion as we have borne with their insults, and submitted to their 
 outrages, they have multiplied in number, and increased in 
 atrocity. But the measure of their offences is at length filled. 
 The blood of our women and children, recently spilled at Fort 
 Mimms, calls for our vengeance ; it must not call in vain. Our 
 borders must no longer be disturbed by the war whoop of these 
 savages, or the cries of 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 
 
SO LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 called for by retributive justice, be waged ? Shall we imitate 
 the example of our enemies, in the disorder of their movements 
 and the savageness of their dispositions ? Is it worthy the 
 character of American soldiers, who take up arms to redress the 
 wrongs of an injured country, to assume no better model 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 
 \tho, in the midst of victory, can still be mindful of what is due 
 to humanity ! 
 
 32. " We will commence the campaign by an inviolable at- 
 tention to discipline and subordination. Without a strict ob 
 servance 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 ardour which animates you, and already 
 exults in the triumph which your strict observance of discipline 
 and good order will render certain." 
 
 33. 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. 
 
 " No suttler 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 positively 
 forbidden, both in officers and privates : officers, under the 
 penalty of immediate arrest ; and privates, of being placed under 
 guard, there to remain until liberated by a court-martial. 
 
 " At reveille beat, all officers and soldiers are to appear on 
 parade, with their arms and accoutrements in proper order. 
 
 " On parade, silence, the duty of a soldier, is positively com 
 manded. 
 
 '* No officer or soldier is to sleep out of camp, but by per 
 mission obtained." 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 31: 
 
 34. These rules, to those who had scarcely yet passed the line 
 that separates the citizen from the soldier, and who had not yet 
 Jaid aside the notions of self-sovereignty, had the appearance of 
 too much rigour; but the general well knew, that the expedition 
 in whicli 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 con 
 duct to which they must conform ; believing that it would be 
 more difficult to drive licentiousness from his camp, than to pre 
 vent its entrance. 
 
 35. 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 afterwards, 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 directed 
 to the several brigadiers in his division, to hasten immediately 
 their respective quotas, fully equipped for active operations. 
 
 36. Circumstances did not permit him to remain at this 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 Huntsville, and give se 
 curity to the frontiers, where alarm greatly prevailed. On the 
 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 Tennessee river, from Chinnaby's fort, 
 on the Coosa, with information that the war party had dispatched 
 eight hundred or a thousand of their warriors to attack the 
 frontiers of Georgia ; and, with the remainder of their forces, 
 were marching against Huntsville, or Fort Hampton. In con 
 sequence of this intelligence, 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 manifested 
 to be led forward ; that desire was now strengthened by the in 
 formation just received ; and it was with difficulty their emotions 
 
32 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap, 
 
 could be restrained. They accelerated their pace, and before 
 eight o'clock at night, arrived at Huntsville, a distance of thirty- 
 two miles. Learning here, that the information was erroneous 
 which had occasioned so hasty a movement, the general en 
 camped 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 ex 
 citement 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 previously occupied a commanding bluff, 
 on the south bank of the river. From this place, in a few days 
 afterwards, Jackson detached Colonel Coffee, with seven hundred 
 men, to scour the Black Warrior, a stream running from the 
 north-east, and 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 labouring 
 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. 
 
 37. 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 to the Cherokee 
 nation of Indians ; and to General White, who commanded the 
 advance of the East Tennessee troops. Previously to his arrival 
 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 Hiwassee, 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 
 
HI.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 33 
 
 expressing a belief, that he should be able to procure, and for 
 ward on immediately, a thousand barrels more. With pressing 
 importunity, he had addressed himself to the contractors, and they 
 had given him assurances, that on his crossing the Tennessee, 
 they would be prepared with twenty days' rations for his whole 
 command ; but finding, on his arrival at Ditto's, that their pre 
 parations were not in such forwardness as he had been led to 
 expect, he was compelled for a time to suspend any active and 
 general operations. Calculating, however, with great confi 
 dence, on exertions which he had been promised should be 
 unremitting, and on the speedy arrival of those supplies, de 
 scending the river, which had been already unaccountably de 
 layed, he hoped, in a few days, to be placed in a situation to act 
 efficiently. Whilst he was encouraged by these expectations, 
 and only waiting their fulfilment, that he might advance, She- 
 locta, the son of Chinnaby, a principal chief among the friendly 
 Creeks, arrived at his camp, to solicit 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 
 neighbourhood of the Ten Islands, on the Coosa. Influenced 
 by his representations, and anxious to extend relief, 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, immediately, such supplies 
 as they had on hand : but, to his great astonishment, he then, 
 for the first time, was apprised of their entire inability to supply 
 him whilst on his march. Having drawn what they had in their 
 power to furnish, amounting to only a few days' rations., they 
 were deposed from office, and others appointed, on whose in 
 dustry and performance he believed he might more safely rely. 
 The scarcity of his provisions, 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 determination already taken. The route he would have 
 to make 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 22nd of October, at Thomp 
 son's Creek, which empties into the Tennessee, twenty-four 
 miles above Ditto's. At this place he proposed the establish 
 ment of a permanent depot, for the reception of supplies, to be 
 
34 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 sent either up or down the river. Disappointed in the hopes 
 with which he had adventured on his march, he remained here 
 several days, in expectation of the boats that were coming to his 
 relief. Thus harassed at the first onset, by difficulties wholly 
 unexpected, and which, from the numerous and strong assur 
 ances received, he could by no means have calculated on: fearing*, 
 too, that the same disregard of duty might induce a continuance, 
 he lost no time in opening every avenue to expedient, that the 
 chances of future failure might be diminished. To General 
 Flournoy, who commanded at Mobile, he applied, urging him 
 to procure bread stuff, and have it forwarded up the Alabama 
 by the time he should arrive on that river. The agent of the 
 Choctaws, Colonel M'Kee, who was then on the Tombigbee, 
 was addressed in the same style of entreaty. Expresses were 
 flspatched 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 Governor 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 in 
 terest, immediately at stake, was pointed to, and their deplorable 
 and dangerous situation, should necessity compel him to with 
 draw his army, and leave them exposed to the mercy of the 
 savages. 
 
 38. Whilst these measures were taking, two runners, from 
 Turkey town, an Indian village, dispatched by Path-killer, a 
 chief of the Cherokees, arrived at the camp. They brought in 
 formation, that the enemy, from nine of the hostile towns, were 
 assembling in great force near the Ten Islands ; and solicited 
 that immediate assistance should be afforded the friendly Creeks 
 and Cherokees, in their neighbourhood, who were exposed to 
 such imminent danger. His want of provisions was not yet 
 remedied ; 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 : 
 
 39. " You have, fellow soldiers, at length penetrated the 
 country of your enemies. It is not to be believed that they will 
 abandon the soil that embosoms the bones of their forefathers, 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 35 
 
 without furnishing 1 you an opportunity of signalizing- your valour. 
 Wise men do not expect, brave men will not desire it. It was 
 not to travel unmolested, through a barren wilderness, that you 
 quitted your families and home.s, and submitted to so many 
 privations ; it was to avenge the cruelties committed upon our 
 defenceless frontiers by the inhuman Creeks, instigated by their 
 no less inhuman allies ; you shall not be disappointed. If the 
 enemy flee before us, we will overtake and chastise him ; we 
 will teach him how dreadful, when once aroused, is the resent 
 ment of freemen. But it is not by boasting that punishment 
 is to be inflicted, or victory obtained. The same resolution 
 that prompted us to take up arms, must inspire us in battle. 
 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 whilst you are asleep and unprepared for action : 
 their hopes shall fail them in the hour of experiment. Soldiers 
 \vho know their duty, and are ambitious to perform it, are not 
 to be taken by surprise. Our sentinels will never sleep, nor our 
 soldiers be unprepared for action : yet, whilst 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 danger must not deprive them of entire self-posses 
 sion. Our soldiers will lie with their arms in their hands ; and 
 the moment an alarm is given, they will move to their respective 
 positions without noise, and without confusion ; they will be 
 thus enabled to hear the orders of their officers, and to obey 
 them with promptitude. 
 
 40. " Great reliance will be placed by the enemy on the con 
 sternation 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 bel- 
 lowings and screams that the wounds of death are inflicted. You 
 will teach these noisy assailants how weak are their weapons of 
 warfare, by opposing them with the bayonet; what Indian ever 
 withstood its charge ? what army, of any nation, ever withstood 
 it long ? 
 
 41. "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 assault with a quick and firm 
 step i without trepidation or alarm* Then shall you behold the 
 
36 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap* 
 
 completion of your hopes in the discomfiture of your enemy. 
 Your general, whose duty, as well as inclination, is to watch 
 over your safety, will not, to gratify any wishes of his own, rush 
 you unnecessarily into danger. He knows, however, that it is 
 not in assailing an enemy that men are destroyed ; it is when 
 retreating and in confusion. Aware of this, he will be prompted 
 as much by a regard for your lives as your honour. 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 evolution, and who rely more 
 for victory on their grim visages and hideous yells, than upon 
 their bravery or their weapons shall such an enemy ever drive 
 before them the well-trained youths of our country 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 scalping knives : but he has no fears 
 of such a result. He knows the valour of the men he commands, 
 and how certainly that valour, regulated as it will be, will lead 
 to victory. With his soldiers he will face all dangers, and with 
 them participate in the glory of conquest." 
 
 42. Having thus prepared the minds of his men, and brought 
 to their view the kind of foe with whom they were shortly to 
 contend; and having also, by his expresses, instructed General 
 White to form a junction with him, and to hasten on all the 
 supplies in his power to command, with about six days' rations 
 of meat, and less than two of meal, he again put his army in 
 motion to meet the enemy. Although there was some hazard- 
 in advancing into a country where relief was not to be expected, 
 with such limited preparation, yet, believing that his contractors, 
 lately installed, would exert themselves to the utmost to forward 
 supplies, and that amidst the variety of arrangements made, all 
 could not fail, and well aware that his delaying longer might be 
 productive of many disadvantages, his determination was taken 
 to set out immediately in quest of the enemy. He replied to 
 the Path-killer, by his runners, that he should proceed directly 
 for the Coosa, and solicited him to be diligent in making dis 
 coveries of the situation and collected forces of the savages, and 
 to give him, as early as possible, the result of his inquiries. 
 
 43. " The hostile Creeks," he remarked to him, '* will not 
 attack you until they have had a brush with me ; and that, I 
 think, will put them out of the notion of fighting for some time." 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 37 
 
 44. He requested, if he had, or could any how procure, pro 
 visions for his army, that he would send them, or advise where 
 they might be had : " You shall be well paid, and have my 
 thanks into the bargain. I shall stand most in need of corn 
 meal, but shall be thankful for any kind of provisions ; and in 
 deed for whatever will support life." 
 
 45. The army had advanced but a short distance when unex 
 pected embarrassments were again presented. Information was 
 received, by which it was clearly ascertained that, the present 
 contractors, who had been so much and so certainly relied on, 
 could not, with all their exertions, procure the necessary supplies. 
 Major Rose, in the quarter-master's department, who had been 
 sent into Madison county, to aid them in their endeavours, 
 having satisfied himself, as well from their own admissions, as 
 from evidence derived from other sources, that their want of 
 funds, and consequent want of credit, rendered them a very 
 unsafe dependence, had returned, and disclosed the facts to the 
 general. He stated, that there were there persons of fortune 
 and industry, who might be confided in, and who would be willing 
 to contract for the army if it were necessary. Jackson lost no 
 time in embracing this plan, and gave the contract to Mr. Pope, 
 upon whose means and exertions, he hoped, every reliance 
 might be safely reposed. To the other contractors he wrote, 
 informing them of the change that had been made, and the 
 reasons which had induced it. 
 
 46. " I am advised," said he, " that you have candidly ac 
 knowledged you have it not in your power to execute the con 
 tract in which you have engaged. Do not think I mean to cast 
 any reflection very far from it. I am exceedingly pleased 
 with the exertions you have made, and feel myself under many 
 obligations of gratitude for them. The critical situation of 
 affairs, when you entered into the contract, being considered, 
 you have done all that individuals, in your circumstances, could 
 have performed. But you must be well convinced, that any 
 approbation which may be felt by the commander of an army, 
 for past services, ought not to become, through kindness to you, 
 the occasion of that army's destruction. From the admissions you 
 have been candid enough to make, the scarcity which already begins 
 to appear in camp, and the difficulties you are likely to encounter 
 in effecting your engagements, 1 am apprehensive I should be 
 doing injustice to the army I command were I to rely for sup 
 port on your exertions great as I know them to be. What 
 ever concerns myself, I may manage with any generosity or 
 indulgence I please ; but in acting* for my country, I have no 
 
38 UFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 such discretion. I have, therefore, felt myself compelled to 
 give the contract in which you are concerned, to another, who 
 is abundantly able to execute it ; on condition he indemnifies 
 you for the trouble you have been at.' 3 
 
 47. This arrangement being- made, the army continued its 
 march, and having arrived within a few miles of the Ten Islands, 
 was met by old Chinnaby, a leading chief of the Creek nation, 
 and sternly opposed to the war party. He brought with him, 
 and surrendered up, two of the hostile Creeks who Lad lately 
 been made prisoners by his party. At this place, it was repre 
 sented, that they were within sixteen miles of the enemy, who 
 were collected, to the number of a thousand, to oppose their 
 passage. This information was little relied on, and afterwards 
 proved untrue. Jackson continued his route, and in a few days 
 reached the islands of the Coosa, having been detained a day on 
 the way. for the purpose of obtaining small supplies of corn 
 from the neighbouring Indians. This acquisition to the scanty 
 stock on hand, whilst it afforded subsistence for the present, 
 encouraged his hopes for the future, as a means of temporary 
 resort, should his other resources fail. 
 
 48. In a letter to Governor Blount, from this place, speaking 
 of the difficulties with which he was assailed, he observes : 
 " Indeed, sir, we have been very wretchedly supplied scarcely 
 two rations in succession have been regularly drawn ; yet we arc 
 not despondent. Whilst we can procure an ear of corn a-piece, 
 or any thing that will answer as a substitute for it, we shall con 
 tinue our exertions to accomplish the object for which we were 
 sent. The cheerfulness with which my men submit to privations, 
 and are ready to encounter danger, does honour to them, and 
 to the government whose rights they are defending. 
 
 49. " Every mean within nay power, for procuring the re 
 quisite supplies for my army, I have taken, and am continuing 
 to take. East, west, north, and south, have been applied to with 
 the most pressing solicitation. The Governor of Georgia, in a 
 letter received from him this evening', informs me that a suffi 
 ciency can be had in his state; but does not signify that he is 
 about to take any measures to procure it. My former contractor 
 has been superseded : no exertions were spared by him to fulfil 
 his engagements ; yet the inconveniences under which he 
 laboured were such as to render his best exertions unavailing 1 . 
 The contract has been offered to one who will be able to execute 
 it : if he accepts it, my apprehensions will be greatly dimi 
 nished." 
 
 50. On the 28th of October, 1813, Colonel Dyer, who, on 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 39 
 
 the march to the Ten Islands, had been detached from the main 
 body, with two hundred cavalry, to attack Littafutchee town, on 
 the head of Canoe creek, which empties into the Coosa from 
 the west, returned, bringing 1 with him twenty-nine prisoners, 
 men, women, and children, having 1 destroyed the village. 
 
 51. The sanguine expectations indulged on leaving" Thomp 
 son's creek, that the advance of the East Tennessee militia 
 would hasten to unite with him, was not yet realized. The ex 
 press heretofore directed to General White, had not returned. 
 Jackson on the 31st of October, 1813, dispatched another, 
 again urging- him to effect a speedy junction, and to bring 1 with 
 him all the bread stuflf it should be in his power to procure; 
 feelingly suggesting- to him, at the same time, the great incon 
 venience and hazard to which he had been already exposed, for 
 the want of punctuality in himself and his commanding general. 
 Owing to that cause, and the late failures of his contractors, he 
 represented his army as placed, at present, in a very precarious 
 situation, and dependent, in a great measure, for support, on 
 the exertions which they might be pleased to make ; but assured 
 him, at the same time, that, let circumstances transpire as they 
 might, he would still, at every risk, endeavour to effect his pur 
 pose; and, at all events, was resolved to hasten, with every 
 practicable dispatch, to the accomplishment of the object for 
 which he had set out. Believing the co-operation of the East 
 Tennessee troops essential to this end, they were again in- 
 ttructed to join him without delay; for he could not conceive it 
 so be correct policy, that troops from the same state, pursuing 
 the same object, should constitute separate and distinct armies, 
 and act without concert, and independently of each other. He 
 entertained no doubt but that his order would be promptly 
 obeyed. 
 
 52. The next evening, a detachment which had been sent 
 out the day before, returned to camp, bringing with them, be 
 sides some corn and beeves, several negroes and prisoners of the 
 war party. 
 
 53. Learning now that a considerable body of the enemy had 
 posted themselves at Tallushatchee, on the south side of the 
 Coosa, about thirteen miles distant, General Coffee was detached 
 with nine hundred men, (the mounted troops having been pre 
 viously organized into a brigade, and placed under his command,) 
 to attack and disperse them. With this force he was enabled, 
 through the direction of an Indian pilot, to ford the Coosa at 
 the Fish dams, about four miles above the Islands ; and having 
 encamped beyond it, very early the next morning proceeded to 
 
40 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 the execution of his order. Having arrived within a mile and a 
 half, he formed his attachment into two divisions, and directed 
 them to march so as to encircle the town, by uniting their fronts 
 beyond it. The enemy, hearing of his approach, began to pre 
 pare for action, which was announced by the beating of drums, 
 mingled with their savage yells and war whoops. An hour after 
 sun-rise, the action was commenced by Captain Hammond's 
 and Lieutenant Patterson's companies of spies, who had gone 
 within the circle of alignement, for the purpose of drawing the 
 Indians from their buildings. No sooner had these companies 
 exhibited their front in view of the town, and given a few scat 
 tering shot, than the enemy formed, and made a violent charge. 
 Being compelled to give way, the advance guards were pursued 
 until they reached the main body of the army, which immedi 
 ately opened a general fire, and charged in their turn. The 
 Indians retreated, firing, until they got around and in their 
 buildings, where an obstinate conflict ensued, and where those 
 who maintained their ground persisted in fighting as long as 
 they could stand or sit, without manifesting fear or solicit 
 ing quarter. Their loss was a hundred and eighty-six killed ; 
 among whom were, unfortunately, and through accident, a few 
 women and children. Eighty-four women and children were 
 taken prisoners, towards whom the utmost humanity was shown. 
 Of the Americans, five were killed, and forty-one wounded. 
 Two were killed with arrows, which on this occasion formed a 
 principal part of the arms of the Indians ; each one having a 
 bow and quiver, which he used after the first fire of his gun, 
 until an opportunity occurred for reloading. 
 
 54. Having buried his dead, and provided for his wounded, 
 General Coffee, late on the evening of the same day, united 
 with the main army, bringing with him about forty prisoners. 
 Of the residue, a part were too badly wounded to be removed, 
 and were therefore left with a sufficient number to take care of 
 them. Those which he brought in, received every comfort and 
 assistance their situation demanded, and, for safety, were imme 
 diately sent into the settlements. 
 
 55. From the manner in which the enemy fought, the killing 
 and wounding others than their warriors was not to be avoided* 
 On their retreat to their village, after the commencement of the 
 battle, they resorted to their block houses, and strong log 
 dwellings, whence they kept up resistance, and resolutely main 
 tained the fight. Thus mingled with their women and children, 
 it was impossible they should not be exposed to the general 
 danger ; and thus many were injured, notwithstanding every 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 41 
 
 possible precaution was taken to prevent it. In fact many of 
 the women united with their warriors, and contended in the 
 battle with fearless bravery. 
 
 56. Measures were now taken to establish a permanent depot 
 on the north bank of the river, at the Ten Islands, to be pro 
 tected by strong- picketting 1 and block houses ; after which, it 
 was the intention of Jackson to proceed along the Coosa to its 
 junction with the Tallapoosa, near which it was expected the 
 main force of the enemy was collected. Well knowing- that it 
 would detach much of the strength of his army to occupy, in his 
 advance, the different points necessary to the safety of his rear, 
 it was desirable to unite, as soon as possible, with the troops 
 from the east of Tenessee: to effect this, he again, on the 4th, 
 dispatched an express to General White, who had previously, 
 with his command, arrived at Turkey town, a Cherokee village, 
 about twenty-five miles above, on the same river, urging him to 
 unite with him as soon as possible, and again entreating him on 
 the subject of provisions ; to bring with him such as he had on 
 hand, or could procure; and, if possible, to form some certain 
 arrangement that might ensure a supply in future. 
 
 57. Anxious to proceed, and to have his army actively and 
 serviceably employed, which he believed would be practicable, 
 as soon as a junction could be effected, he again, on the morning; 
 of the 7th of November, 1813, renewed his application to 
 General White, who still remained at Turkey-town. 
 
 58 As yet no certain intelligence was received of any col 
 lection of the enemy. The army was busily engaged in forti 
 fying and strengthening the site fixed on for a depot, to which 
 the name of Fort Strother had been given. Late, however, on 
 the evening of the 7th November, a runner arrived from Talla- 
 dega, a fort of the friendly Indians, distant about thirty miles 
 below, with information, that the enemy had that morning en 
 camped before it in great numbers, and would certainly destroy 
 it unless immediate assistance could be afforded. Jackson con 
 fiding in the statement, determined to lose no time in extending 
 the relief which was solicited. Understanding that General 
 White, agreeably to his order, was on his way to join him, he 
 dispatched a messenger to meet him, directing him to reach his 
 encampment in the course of the ensuing night and to protect 
 it in his absence. He now gave orders for taking up the line 
 of march, with twelve hundred infantry, and eight hundred 
 cavalry and mounted gun men ; leaving behind the sick, the 
 wounded, and all his baggage, with a force which was deemed 
 sufficient for their protection, until the reinforcement from Tur 
 key-town should arrive. 
 
42 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 59. The friendly Indians, who had taken refuge in this be 
 sieged fort, had involved themselves in their present perilous 
 situation, from a disposition to preserve their amicable relations 
 with the United States. To suffer them to fall a sacrifice, from 
 any tardiness of movement, would have been unpardonable ; and 
 unless relief wore immediately extended, it might arrive too late. 
 Acting under these impressions, the general concluded to move 
 instantly forward to their assistance. By twelve o'clock at night 
 everything was in readiness ; and in an hour afterwards the 
 army commenced crossing the river, about a mile above the 
 camp, each of the mounted men carrying one of the infantry 
 behind him. The river at this place was six hundred yards 
 wide, and it being necessary to send back the horses for the 
 remainder of the infantry, several hours were consumed before 
 a passage of ail the troops could be effected. Nevertheless, 
 though greatly fatigued and deprived of sleep, they continued 
 the march with animation, and by evening had arrived within 
 six miles of the enemy. In this march, Jackson used the ut~ 
 most precaution to prevent surprise ; marching his army, as 
 was his constant custom, in three columns, so that, by a speedy 
 manoeuvre, they might be thrown into such a situation as to be 
 capable of resisting an attack from any quarter. Having judi 
 ciously encamped his men on an eligible piece of ground, he 
 sent forward two of the friendly Indians, and a white man, who 
 had for many years been detained a captive in the nation, and 
 was now acting as interpreter, to reconnoitre the position of the 
 enemy. About eleven o'clock at night they returned with in 
 formation that the savages were posted within a quarter of a 
 mile of the fort, and appeared to be in great force ; but that 
 they had not been able to approach near enough to ascertain 
 either their numbers or precise situation. Within an hour after 
 this, a runner arrived from Turkey-town, with a letter from 
 General White, stating, that after having taken up the line of 
 march, to unite at Fort Strother, he had received orders from 
 General Cocke to change his course and proceed to the mouth 
 of Chatauga creek. It was most distressing intelligence: the 
 sick and wounded had been left with no other calculation for 
 their safety and defence than that this detachment of the army, 
 agreeably to his request, would, by advancing upon Fort Strother, 
 serve the double purpose of protecting his rear and enable him 
 to advance still farther into the enemy's country. The inform 
 ation which was now received, proved that all those salutary- 
 anticipations were at an end, and that evils of the worst kind 
 might be the consequence. Intelligence so disagreeable, and 
 withal so unexnertfid. filled the mind of Jarkson with annrehen- 
 
IJI.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 18^3. 43! 
 
 sion of a serious and alarming character ; and dreading lest the 
 enemy, by taking a different route, should attack his encamp 
 ment in his absence, he determined to lose no time in bringing 
 him to battle. Orders were accordingly given to the adjutant- 
 general to prepare the line, and by four o'clock in the morning, 
 the army was a'ain in motion. The infantry proceeded in 
 three columns ; thy cavalry in the same order, in the rear, with 
 flankers on each wing. The advance, consisting of a company 
 of artillerists with muskets, two companies of riflemen, and one 
 of <pies, marched about four hundred yards in front, under the 
 command of Colonel Carroll, inspector-general, with orders, 
 after commencing the action, to fall back on the centre, so as 
 to draw the enemy after them. At seven o'clock, having arrived 
 within a mile of the position they occupied, the columns were 
 displayed in order of battle. Two hundred and fifty of the ca 
 valry, under Lieutenant-Colonel Dyer, were placed in the rear 
 of the centre, as a corps de reserve. The remainder of the 
 mounted troops were directed to advance on the right and left, 
 and, after encircling the enemy, by uniting the fronts of their 
 columns, and keeping their rear rested on the infantry, to 
 face and press towards the centre, so as to leave them no pos 
 sibility of escape. The remaining part of the army was ordered 
 to i move up by heads of companies ; General Hall's brigade 
 occupying the right, and General Roberts' the left. 
 
 60. About eight o'clock, the advance having arrived within 
 eighty yards of the enemy, who were concealed in a thick shrub 
 bery, that covered the margin of a small rivulet, received a 
 heavy fire, which they instantly returned with much spirit. 
 Falling in with the enemy, agreeably to their instructions, they 
 retired towards the centre, but not before they had dislodged 
 them from their position. The Indians, now screaming and 
 yelling hideously, rushed forward in the direction of General 
 Roberts' brigade, a few companies of which, alarmed by their 
 numbers and yells, gave way at the first fire. Jackson, to fill 
 the chasm which was thus created, directed the regiment com 
 manded by Colonel Bradley, to be moved up, which, from some 
 unaccountable cause, had failed to advance in a line with the 
 others, and now occupied a position in rear of the centre : 
 Bradley, however, to whom this order was given by one of the 
 staff, omitted to execute it in time, alleging, he was determined 
 to remain on the eminence which he then possessed, until he 
 should be approached and attacked by the enemy. Owing to 
 this failure in the volunteer regiment, it became necessary to 
 dismount the reserve, which, with great firmness, met the ap- 
 
44 LIFE OF JACKSON-. [Chap. 
 
 proacb of the enemy, who were rapidly moving- in this direction. 
 The retreating militia, somewhat mortified at seeing- their places 
 so promptly supplied, rallied, and, recovering- their former posi 
 tion in the line, aided in checking- the advance of the savag-es. 
 The action now became general along the line, and in fifteen 
 minutes the Indians were seen fleeing in every direction. On 
 the left, they were met and repulsed by the mounted riflemen ; 
 but on the right, owing to the halt of Bradley's regiment, which 
 was intended to occupy the extreme right, and to the circum 
 stance of Colonel Allcorn, who commanded one of the wings of 
 the cavalry, having taken too large a circuit, a considerable 
 space was left between the infantry and the cavalry, through 
 which numbers escaped. The fight was maintained with great 
 spirit and effect on both sides, as well before as after the retreat 
 commenced ; nor did the pursuit and slaughter terminate until 
 the mountains were reached, at the distance of three miles. 
 
 61. Jackson, in his report of this action, bestows high com 
 mendation on the officers and soldiers. " Too much praise/* 
 he observes, in the close of it, " cannot be bestowed on the ad 
 vance, led by Colonel Carroll, for the spirited manner in which 
 they commenced and sustained the attack; nor upon the reserve, 
 commanded by Lieutenant- Colonel Dyer, for the gallantry with 
 which they met and repulsed the enemy. In a word, officers of 
 every grade, as well as privates, realized the high expectations 
 I had formed of them, and merit the gratitude of their country." 
 
 62. In this battle, the force of the enemy was one thousand 
 and eighty, of whom two hundred and ninety-nine were left 
 dead on the ground ; and it is believed that many were killed 
 in the flight, who were not found when the estimate was made. 
 Probably few escaped unhurt. Their loss on this occasion, as 
 stated since by themselves, was not less than six hundred : that 
 of the Americans was fifteen killed, and eighty wounded, several 
 of whom afterwards died. Jackson, after collecting his dead 
 and wounded, advanced his army beyond the fort, and encamped 
 for the night. The Indians, who had been for several days shut 
 up by the besiegers, thus fortunately liberated from the most 
 dreadful apprehensions, and severest privations, having for some 
 time been entirely without water, received the army with all 
 the demonstrations of gratitude that savages could give. Their 
 manifestations of joy for their deliverance, presented an inter 
 esting and affecting spectacle. Their fears had been already 
 greatly excited, for it was the very day when they were to have 
 been assaulted, and when every soul within the fort must have 
 perished. All the provisions they could spare, from their scanty 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 45 
 
 stock, they sold to the general, who, purchasing 1 with his own 
 money, distributed them amongst the soldiers, who were almost 
 destitute. 
 
 63. It was with great regret that Jackson now found he was 
 without the means of availing himself fully of the advantages of 
 his victory ; but the condition of his posts in the rear, and the 
 want of provisions, (having left his encampment at Fort Strother 
 with little more than one day's rations,) compelled him to re 
 turn ; thus giving the enemy time to recover the consternation 
 of their first defeat, and to re-assemble their forces. 
 
 64. The cause which prevented General White from acting 
 in obedience to his order, and arriving at the Ten Islands at a 
 moment when it was so important, and when it was so confidently 
 expected, was as yet unknown ; the only certainty upon the 
 subject was, that for the present it wholly thwarted his views, 
 and laid him under the necessity of returning. This mystery, 
 hitherto inexplicable, was sometime after explained, by a view 
 of the order of General Cocke, under which White, being a 
 brigadier in his division, chose to act, rather than under Jack 
 son's. General Cocke stated to him, he had understood Jackson 
 had crossed the Coosa, and had an engagement with the Indians. 
 *' I have formed a council of officers here, and proposed these 
 questions : shall we follow him, or cross the river, ^nd pro 
 ceed to the Creek settlements on the Tallapoosa ? Both were 
 decided unanimously, that he should not be followed, but that 
 we should proceed in the way proposed." He remarked, that 
 the decision had met his entire approbation ; and directed White 
 forthwith to unite with him at his encampment, where he should 
 wait, fortifying it strongly for a depot, until he should arrive. 
 " If," said he, " we follow General Jackson and his army, we 
 must suffer for supplies ; nor can we expect to gain a victory. 
 Let us then take a direction in which we can share some of the 
 dangers and glories of the field. You will employ pilots, and 
 advise me which side of the river you will move up." In this, 
 as in every other measure, it seemed to be the studied aim of 
 Cocke, to thwart the views and arrest the successes of Jackson; 
 and perhaps jealousy, in no inconsiderable degree, was the 
 moving spring to his conduct. Both were major-generals, from 
 the state of Tennessee, sent on the same important errand to 
 check an insolent foe, who had practised the most cruel and 
 unprovoked outrages. Which of them should share the " dan 
 gers and glories of the field," or obtain its laurels, was not so 
 important to the country, as by acting in concert and harmony, 
 endeavouring to accomplish the grand object of terminating the 
 
46 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 war, and restoring 1 tranquillity to the frontiers. National, and 
 not individual advancement, was the object in carrying- an army 
 into the field : and the best and most effectual means of secur 
 ing 1 this, every officer, acting- on liberal principles, should have 
 constantly held in view : the interest and repose of the country, 
 not their individual advancement, was the end to be attained. 
 
 65. Having- buried his dead with all due honour, and provided 
 litters for the wounded, he reluctantly commenced his return 
 march on the morning succeeding* the battle. He confidently 
 hoped, from the previous assurances of the contractors, that by 
 the time of his return to Fort Strother sufficient supplies would 
 have arrived there; but, to his inexpressible uneasiness, he 
 found that not a particle had been forwarded there since his 
 departure, and that what had been left was already consumed. 
 Even his private stores brought on at his own expense, and 
 upon which he and his staff had hitherto wholly subsisted, had 
 been in his absence distributed amongst the sick by the hospital 
 surgeon, who had been previously instructed to do so, if 
 their wants should require it. A few dozen biscuits which 
 remained on his return, were given to hungry applicants, without 
 being tasted by himself or family, who were probably notless hungry 
 than those who were thus relieved. A scanty supply of indiffer 
 ent beef taken from the enemy, or purchased of the Cherokees, 
 was now the only support afforded. Thus left destitute, Jack 
 son, with the utmost cheerfulness of temper, repaired to the 
 bullock pen ; and of the offal there thrown away provided for 
 himself and staff, what he was pleased to call, and seemed really 
 to think, a very comfortable repast. Tripes, however, hastily 
 provided in a camp, without bread or seasoning, can only be 
 palatable to an appetite very high whetted ; yet this constituted 
 for several days the only diet at head quarters, during which 
 time the general seemed entirely satisfied with his fare. Nei 
 ther this, nor the liberal donations by which he disfurnished 
 himself to relieve the suffering soldier, deserves to be ascribed 
 to ostentation or design : the one flowed from benevolence, the 
 other from necessity, and a desire to place before his men an 
 example of patience and suffering, which he felt might be neces 
 sary, and hoped might be serviceable. Of these two imputa 
 tions no human being, invested with rank and power, was ever 
 more deservedly free. Charity in him is a warm and active 
 propensity of the heart, urging him, by an instantaneous 
 impulse, to relieve the wants of the distressed, without regard 
 ing, or even thinking of, the consequences. Many of those to 
 whom it was extended had no conception of the source that 
 
HI.] IXC-IAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 47 
 
 supplied them, and believed the comforts they received were, 
 indeed, drawn from stores provided for the hospital department. 
 
 66. On this campaign, a soldier one morning 1 , with a wo- 
 begone countenance, approached the general, stating that he 
 was nearly starved, that he had nothing to eat, and could not 
 imagine what he should do. He was the more encouraged to com 
 plain, from perceiving that the general, who had seated himself 
 at. the root of a tree, waiting the coming up of the rear of the 
 army, was busily engaged in eating something. The poor fel 
 low was impressed with the belief, from what he saw, that want 
 only attached to the soldiers ; and that the officers, particularly 
 the general, were liberally and well supplied. He accordingly 
 approached him with great confidence of being relieved ; Jack 
 son told him, that it had always been a rule with him never to 
 turn away a hungry man when it was in his power to relieve 
 him. I will most cheerfully, said he, divide with you what I 
 have ; and putting his hand to his pocket, drew forth a few 
 acorns, from which he had been feasting, adding, it was the 
 best and only fare he had. The soldier seemed much surprised, 
 and forthwith circulated, amongst his comrades that their general 
 was actually subsisting upon acorns, and that they ought hence 
 no more to complain. From this circumstance was derived the 
 story heretofore published to the world, that Jackson, about the 
 period of his greatest suffering, and with a view to inspirit them, 
 had invited his officers to dine with him, and presented for their 
 repast water and a tray of acorns. 
 
 67. But while General Jackson remained wholly unmoved 
 by his own privations, he was filled with solicitude and concern 
 for his army. His utmost exertions, unceasingly applied, were 
 insufficient to remove the sufferings to which he saw them 
 exposed; and although they were by no means so great as were 
 represented, yet were they undoubtedly such as to be sensibly 
 and severely felt. Discontents, and a desire to return home, arose, 
 and presently spread through the camp ; and these were still 
 further embittered and augmented by the arts of a few design 
 ing officers, who, believing that the campaign would now break 
 up, hoped lomake themselves popular on the return, by encou 
 raging and taking part in the complaints of the soldiery. It is 
 a singular fact, that those officers who pretended on this occa 
 sion to feel most sensibly for the wants of the army, and who 
 contrived most effectually to instigate it to revolt, had never 
 themselves been without provisions ; and were, at that very 
 moment, enjoying in abundance what would have relieved the 
 
48 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 distresses of many, had it been as generously and freely distri 
 buted as were their words of advice and condolence. 
 
 68. During this period of scarcity and discontent, small quan 
 tities of supplies were occasionally forwarded by the contractors, 
 but not a sufficiency for present want, and still less to remove 
 the apprehensions that were entertained for the future. At 
 length, revolt began to show itself openly. The officers and 
 soldiers of the militia, collecting in their tents and talking over 
 their grievances, determined to yield up their patriotism and to 
 abandon the camp. To this measure, there were good eviden 
 ces for believing that several of the officers of the old volunteer 
 corps exerted themselves clandestinely, and with great industry, 
 to instigate them ; looking upon themselves somewhat in the 
 light of veterans, from the discipline they had acquired in the 
 expedition to the lower country, they were unwilling to be seen 
 foremost in setting an example of mutiny, and wished to make 
 the defection of others a pretext for their own. 
 
 69. Jackson, apprized of their determination to abandon him, 
 resolved to oppose it, and, at all hazard, to prevent a departure. 
 In the morning, when they were to carry their intentions into 
 execution, he drew up the volunteers in front of them, with 
 positive commands to prevent their progress, and compel them 
 to return to their former position in the camp. The militia 
 seeing this, and fearing the consequences of persisting in their 
 purpose, at once abandoned it, and returned to their quarters 
 without further murmuring ; extolling, in the highest terms, the 
 unalterable firmness of the general 
 
 70 The next day, however, presented a singular scene. The 
 volunteers, who the day before had been the instruments for 
 compelling the militia to return to their duty, seeing the 
 destruction of those hopes on which they had lately built, in 
 turn began themselves to mutiny. Their opposition to the 
 departure of the militia was but a mere pretence to escape sus 
 picion, for they silently wished them success. They now deter 
 mined to move off in a body, believing, from the known disaffec 
 tion in the camp, that the general could find no means to pre 
 vent it. What was their surprise, however, when on attempting 
 to effectuate their resolves, they found the same men, whom, 
 they had so lately opposed, occupying the very position which 
 they had done the day previous for a similar purpose, and mani 
 festing a fixed determination to obey the orders of their general ! 
 All they ventured to do was to take the example through ; and, 
 like them, move back in peace and quietness to their quarters. 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 49 
 
 This was a curious change of circumstances, when we consider 
 in how short a time it happened ; but the conduct of the mili 
 tia, on this occasion, must be ascribed to the ingenuity and 
 management of the general, and to the gratification they felt in 
 being able to defeat the views of those who had so lately thwarted 
 their own. To this may be also added the consciousness all 
 must have entertained, that the privations of which they com 
 plained were far less grievous than they had represented them ; 
 by no means sufficient to justify revolt, and not greater than 
 patriots might be expected to bear without a murmur, when 
 objects of such high consideration were before them. But anx 
 ious to return to their families and kindred, wearied of their 
 difficulties and sufferings, and desirous to recount the brilliant 
 exploits of their first battle, they seized with eagerness every 
 pretext for exoneration, and listened with too much docility to 
 the representations of those who were influenced by less honour 
 able feelings. Having many domestic considerations to attend 
 to- the first ebullition of resentment being cooled, and the first 
 impulse of curiosity gratified, there were no motives to retain 
 them in the field but a remaining sense of honour, and a fear of 
 disgrace and punishment should they abandon their post without 
 a cause. But although these motives were sufficient for the 
 present, those who were governed by them did not cease to 
 wish that a more plausible apology might offer for dispensing 
 with their operation. The militia continued to show a much 
 more obedient and patriotic disposition than the volunteers ; 
 who, having adopted a course which they discovered must 
 finally involve them in dishonour, if it should fail, were exceed 
 ingly anxious for its success, and that it might have the appear 
 ance of being founded on justice. On this subject the preten 
 sions of the cavalry were certainly much better established ; as 
 they were entirely without forage, and without the prospect of 
 speedily obtaining any. They petitioned, therefore, to be per 
 mitted to return into the settled parts of the country, pledging 
 themselves, by their platoon and field officers, that if sufficient 
 time were allowed to recruit the exhausted state of their horses, 
 and to procure their winter clothing, they would return to the 
 performance of their duty whenever called on. The general, 
 unable from many causes to prosecute the campaign, and con 
 fiding in the assurance given, granted the prayer of their peti 
 tion, and they immediately set out on their return. 
 
 71. About this time, General Jackson's prospect of being- 
 able to maintain the conquests he had made, began to be 
 cheered by letters just received from the contractors an4 princi* 
 
50 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 pal wagon-master, stating that sufficient supplies for the army 
 were then on the road, and would shortly arrive ; but discon 
 tents, to an alarming degree, still prevailed in his camp. To 
 allay them, if possible, he hastened to lay before the division the 
 information and letters he had received ; and, at the same time, 
 invited the field and platoon officers to his quarters, to consult 
 on the measures proper to be pursued. Having assembled 
 them, and well knowing that the flame of discontent which had 
 so lately shown itself, was only for the present smothered, and 
 might yet burst forth in serious injury, he addressed them in an 
 animated speech, in which he extolled their patriotism and 
 achievements ; lamented the privations to which they had been 
 exposed, and endeavoured to reanimate them by the prospect of 
 speedy relief, which he expecte'd with confidence on the follow 
 ing day. He spoke of the immense importance of the conquests 
 they had already made, and of the dreadful consequences that 
 must result, should they be now abandoned. " What," conti 
 nued he, " is the present situation of our camp ? a number of 
 our fellow soldiers are wounded, and unable to help themselves. 
 Shall it be said that we are so lost to humanity as to leave them 
 in this condition ? Can any one, under these circumstances and 
 under these prospects, consent to an abandonment of the camp; 
 of all that we have acquired in the midst of so many difficulties, 
 privations, and dangers ; of what it will cost us so much to 
 regain ; of what we never can regain, our brave wounded 
 companions, who will be murdered by our unthinking, unfeeling* 
 inhumanity ? Surely there can be none such ! No ; we will 
 take with us, when we go, our wounded and sick. They must 
 not shall not perish by our cool-blooded indifference. But 
 why should you despond ? I do not, and yet your wants are not 
 greater than mine. To be sure we do not live sumptuously : 
 but no one has died of hunger, or is likely to die : and then how 
 animating are our prospects ! Large supplies are at Deposit, 
 and already are officers dispatched to hasten them on. Wagons 
 are on the way ; a large number of beeves are in the neighbour 
 hood ; and detachments are out to bring them in. All these 
 resources surely cannot fail. I have no wish to starve you 
 none to deceive you. Stay contentedly ; and if supplies do not 
 arrive within two days, we will all march back together, and 
 throw the blame of our failure where it should properly lie ; 
 until then we certainly have the means of subsisting ; and if we 
 are compelled to bear privations, let us remember that they are 
 borne for our country, and are not greater than many perhaps, 
 most armies have been compelled to endure. I have called 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 5fl*. 
 
 you together to tell you my feelings and my wishes ; this evening 
 think on them seriously ; and let me know yours in the morn 
 ing." 
 
 72. Having retired to their tents, and deliberated on tho 
 measures most proper to be adopted in this emergency, the 
 officers of the volunteer brigade came to the conclusion, that 
 " nothing short of marching the army immediately back to the 
 settlements could prevent those difficulties and that disgrace 
 which must attend a forcible desertion of the camp by his sol 
 diers." The officers of the militia determined differently, and 
 reported a willingness to maintain the post a few days longer, 
 that it might be ascertained whether or not a sufficiency of pro 
 visions could really be had. " If it can, let us proceed with the 
 campaign if not, let us be marched back to where it can be 
 procured." The general, who greatly preferred the latter opi 
 nion, nevertheless, to allay excitement, was disposed to gratify 
 those who appeared unwilling- to submit to further hardships ; 
 and with this view ordered General Hall to march his brigade 
 to Fort Deposit; and, after satisfying their wants, to return and 
 act as an escort to the provisions. The second regiment, how 
 ever, unwilling to be outdone by the militia, consented to 
 remain ; and the first proceeded alone. On this occasion he 
 could not forbear to remark, that men for whom he had ever 
 cherished so warm an affection, and for whom he would at all 
 times have made any sacrifice, desiring to abandon him at a 
 moment when their presence was so particularly necessary, filled 
 him with emotions which the strongest language was too feeble 
 to express. " I was prepared," he continued, " to endure every 
 evil but disgrace ; and this, as I never can submit to myself, 1 
 can give no encouragement to in others." 
 
 73. Two days had elapsed since the departure of the volun 
 teers, and supplies had not arrived. The militia, with great 
 earnestness, now demanded a performance of the pledge that 
 had been given that they should be marched back to the set 
 tlements. Jackson, on giving them an assurance that they 
 should return, if relief did not reach them in two days, had 
 indulged a confidence that it would certainly arrive by that time ; 
 and now, from the information he had received, felt more than 
 ever certain that it could not be far distant. Having, however, 
 pledged himself, he could use no arguments or entreaties to 
 detain them any longer, and immediately took measures for 
 complying with their wishes and the promise he had made them. 
 This was to him a moment of the deepest defection. He fore 
 saw how difficult it would be ever to accomplish the object upon 
 
 c 2 
 
52 LIFE OF JACKSON, [Chap. 
 
 which his heart was so devoutly fixed, should he lose the men 
 who were now with him ; or even to regain the conquests he 
 had made, if his present posts should fall into the hands of the 
 enemy. While thus pondering on the gloomy prospect, he 
 lifted up his hands and exclaimed, with a look and manner 
 which showed how much he felt " If only two men will remain 
 with me, I will never abandon this post." Captain Gordon, of 
 the spies, facetiously replied, "You have one, general, let us 
 look if we can't find another;" and immediately, with a zeal 
 suited to the occasion, undertook, with some of the general 
 staff, to raise volunteers ; and in a little while succeeded in pro 
 curing one hundred and nine, who declared a determination to 
 remain and protect the post. The general, greatly rejoiced that 
 he would not be compelled to an entire abandonment of his 
 position, now set out towards Deposit with the remainder of the 
 army, who were given distinctly to understand, that on meeting 
 supplies they were to return and prosecute the campaign. This 
 was an event which, as it had been expected and foretold, soon 
 took place : they had not proceeded more than ten or twelve 
 miles, when they met a hundred and fifty beeves ; but a sight 
 which gave to Jackson so much satisfaction, was to them the 
 most disagreeable and unwelcome. Their faces being now 
 turned towards home, no spectacle could be more hateful than 
 one which was to change their destination. They were halted ; 
 and having satisfied their hungry appetites, the troops, with the 
 exception of such as were necessary to proceed with the sick 
 and wounded, were ordered to return to the encampment he 
 himself intending to see the contractors, and establish more 
 effectual arrangements for the future. So great was their aver 
 sion to returning, that they preferred a violation of their duty 
 and their pledged honour. Low murmurings ran along the lines, 
 and presently broke out into open mutiny. In spite of the order 
 they had received they began to revolt, and one company was 
 already moving off in a direction towards home. They had 
 proceeded some distance before information of their departure 
 was had by Jackson. Irritated at their conduct, in attempting 
 to violate 'the promise they had given, and knowing that the 
 success of future operations depended on the result, the general 
 pursued, until he came near a part of his staff and a few sol 
 diers, who, with General Coffee, had halted about a quarter of 
 a mile ahead. He ordered them to form immediately across the 
 road, and to fire on the mutineers if they attempted to proceed. 
 Snatching up their arms, these faithful adherents presented a 
 front, which threw the deserters into affright, and caused them. 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 53 
 
 to retreat precipitately to the main body. Here it was hoped 
 the matter would end, and that no further opposition would be 
 made to returning-. This expectation was not realized ; a muti 
 nous temper began presently to display itself throughout the 
 whole brigade. Jackson having 1 left his aid-de-camp, Major Reid, 
 engaged in making up some dispatches, had gone out alone 
 amongst his troops, who were at some distance ; on his arrival, 
 he found a much more extensive mutiny than that which had 
 just been quelled. Almost the whole brigade had put itself into 
 an attitude for moving forcibly off. A crisis had arrived ; and, 
 feeling its importance, he determined to take no middle ground, 
 but to triumph or perish. He was still without the use of his 
 left arm ; but seizing a musket, and resting it on the neck of 
 his horse, he threw himself in front of the column, and threat 
 ened to shoot the first man who should attempt to advance. In. 
 this situation he was found by Major Reid and General Coffee ; 
 who, fearing from the length of his absence", that some disturb 
 ance had arisen, hastened where he was, and placing themselves 
 by his side, awaited the result in anxious expectation. For 
 many minutes the column preserved a sullen, yet hesitating 
 attitude, fearing to proceed in their purpose, and disliking to 
 abandon it. In the mean time, those who remained faithful to 
 their duty, amounting to about two companies, were collected 
 and formed at a short distance in advance of the troops and in 
 rear of the general, with positive directions to imitate his exam 
 ple in firing if they attempted to proceed. At length, finding 
 no one bold enough to advance, and overtaken by those fears 
 which in the hour of peril always beset persons engaged in what 
 they know to be a bad cause, they abandoned their purpose, and 
 turning quietly round, agreed to return to their posts. It is 
 very certain, that but for the firmness of the general, at this 
 critical moment, the campaign would have been broken up, and 
 most probably not commenced again. 
 
 74. Shortly after the battle of Talladega, the Hillabee tribes, 
 who had been the principal sufferers on that occasion, applied 
 to General Jackson for peace; declaring their willingness to 
 receive it on such terms as he might be pleased to dictate. His 
 decision had been already returned, stating to them that his 
 government had taken up arms, to bring to a proper sense of 
 duty a people to whom she had ever shown the utmost kind 
 ness, and who, nevertheless, had committed against her citizens 
 the most unprovoked depredations ; and that she would lay 
 them down only when certain that this object was attained. 
 " Upon those," continued he, "who are disposed to become 
 
54 .' LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 friendly, I neither wish nor intend to make war ; but they must 
 afford evidences of the sincerity of their professions ; the pri 
 soners and property they have taken from us, and the friendly 
 Creeks, must be restored ; the instigators of the war, and the 
 murderers of our citizens, must be surrendered ; the latter must 
 and will be made to feel the force of our resentment. Long 
 shall they remember Fort Mimms in bitterness and tears." 
 
 75. Having stated to General Cocke, whose division was act 
 ing in this section of the nation, the propositions that had been 
 made by the Hillabee clans, with the answer he had returned, 
 and urged him to detach to Fort Strother six hundred of his 
 men, to aid in the defence of that place during his absence, and 
 in the operations he intended to resume on his return, he pro 
 ceeded to Deposit and Ditto's landing, where the most effectual 
 means in his power were taken with the contractors for obtain 
 ing regular supplies in future. They were required to furnish 
 immediately thirty days rations at Fort Strother, forty at Talla- 
 dega, and as many at the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa ; 
 two hundred packhorses and forty wagons were put in requisi 
 tion to facilitate their transportation. Understanding now that 
 the whole detachment from Tennessee had, by the president, 
 been received into the service of the United States, he per 
 suaded himself that the difficulties he had heretofore encoun 
 tered would not recur, and that the want of supplies would not 
 again be a cause of impeding his operations. He now looked 
 forward, with sanguine expectations, to the speedy accomplish 
 ment of the objects of the expedition. 
 
 76. The volunteers, who were at Deposit, began to manifest 
 the same unwillingness to return to their duty that the militia 
 had done, and were about to break out into the same spirit of 
 mutiny and revolt ; but were restrained by an animated address 
 of the general, who, having assembled them together, painted, 
 in the most glowing colours, all the consequences that were to 
 be apprehended, if, from any defalcation of theirs, the campaign 
 should be abandoned, or ineffectually prosecuted. By this 
 means, he succeeded once more in restoring' quietness to his 
 troops. 
 
 77. He now set out on his return to Fort Strother, and was 
 delighted to find, by the progress of the works, the industry 
 that had been used in his absence. But the satisfaction he felt, 
 and the hopes he began to cherish, were of short continuance. 
 Although he had succeeded in stilling the tumult of the volun 
 teers, and in prevailing on them to return to their posts, it was 
 soon discovered he had not eradicated their deep-rooled aversion 
 
.III.] INPIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 55 
 
 -to a further prosecution of the war. Nothing- is more difficult 
 than to reanimate men who have once lost their spirits, or inspire 
 with new ardour those in whom it has lately become extinct. 
 Even where the evils, which produced the change, are removed, 
 apologies will be sought, and pretexts seized, for justifying and 
 preserving- the present tone of mind. The volunteers who had 
 so lately clamoured about bread, now, when they were no longer 
 hung'ry, began to clamour, with equal earnestness, about their 
 term of service. Having lately made an effort to forsake the 
 drudg-ery of the field, and failed, they were disposed to avail 
 themselves of any pretexts, seemingly plausible, to obtain suc 
 cess. They insisted that the period for which they had under 
 taken to act would end on the 10th of December, that being* 
 the termination of a year from the day they had first entered 
 into service ; and although they had been a greater part of the 
 time disengaged, and unemployed, that recess was nevertheless 
 to be taken into the computation. Jackson replied, that the 
 law of congress, under which they had been tendered and ac 
 cepted, requiring one year's service out of two, could contem 
 plate nothing less than an actual service of three hundred and 
 sixty-five days ; and, until that were performed, he could not, 
 unless specially authorized, undertake to discharge them. But 
 as this was a question not likely to be settled by argument, and 
 -as the consequences were easily to be foreseen, if they should 
 persist in their demands, the general began to think of providing 
 other means for a continuance of the campaign, that, even in 
 the worst extreme, he might not be unprepared to act. Order 
 ing General Roberts to return, and fill up the deficiencies in his 
 brigade, he now dispatched Colonel Carroll and Major Searcy, 
 one of his aids-de-camp, into Tennessee, to raise volunteers, 
 -for six months, or during the campaign ; writing, at the same 
 time, to many respectable characters, he exhorted them to con 
 tribute all their assistance to the accomplishment of this object. 
 To a letter, just received from the Reverend Gideon Blackburn, 
 assuring him that volunteers from Tennessee would eagerly 
 hasten to his relief, if they knew their services were wanted, he 
 replied, "Reverend Sir, Your letter has been just received : 
 I thank you for it ; I thank you most sincerely. It arrived at a 
 moment when my spirits needed such a support. 
 
 78. "I left Tennessee with an army, brave, I believe, as any 
 general ever commanded. I have seen them in battle, and my 
 opinion of their bravery is not changed. But their fortitude 
 jon this too I relied has been too severely tested. Perhaps I 
 was wrong, in believing that nothing but death could conquer 
 the spirits of brave men. I am sure I was; for my men, I 
 
56 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 know, are brave ; yet privations have rendered them discon 
 tented : that is enough. The expedition must nevertheless he- 
 prosecuted to a successful termination. New volunteers must be 
 raised, to conclude what has been so auspiciously begun by the 
 old ones. Gladly would I save these men from themselves, and 
 insure them a harvest which they have sown ; but if they will 
 abandon it to others, it must be so. 
 
 79. " You are good enough to say, if I need your assist 
 ance, it will be cheerfully afforded : I do need it greatly. The 
 influence you possess over the minds of men is great and well- 
 founced, and can never be better applied than in summoning 
 volunteers to the defence of their country, their liberty, and 
 their religion. While we fight the savage, who makes war only 
 because he delights in blood, and who has gotten his booty 
 "when he has scalped his victim, we are, throug'h him, contend 
 ing against an enemy of more inveterate character, and deeper 
 design who would demolish a fabric cemented by the blood of 
 our fathers, arid endeared to us by all the happiness we enjoy. 
 So far as my exertions can contribute, the purposes, both of the 
 savage and his instigator, shall be defeated ; and so far as yours 
 <?an, I hope I know, they will be employed. I have said enough. 
 I want men, and want them immediately." 
 
 80. Anxious to prosecute the campaign as soon as possible, 
 that by employing his troops actively, he might dispel from their 
 minds those discontents so frequently manifested, he wrote to 
 General Cocke, desiring and urging him to unite with him, im 
 mediately, at the Ten Islands, with fifteen hundred men. He as 
 sured him that the mounted men, who had returned to the set 
 tlements for subsistence, and to recruit their horses, would arrive 
 by the 1 2th of the month. He wished to commence his operations 
 directly, " knowing they would be prepared for it, and well know 
 ing they would require it." " 1 am astonished," he continued, 
 " to hear that your supplies continue deficient. In the name of 
 God, what are the contractors doing, and about what are they en 
 gaged ? Every letter I receive from Governor Blount, assures me 
 I am to receive plentiful supplies from them, and seems to take- 
 for granted, notwithstanding all I have said to the contrary, that 
 they have been hitherto regularly furnished. Considering the 
 generous loan the State has made for this purpose, and the 
 facility of procuring bread stuffs in East Tennessee, and of 
 transporting them by water to Fort Deposit, it is to me wholly 
 unaccountable that not a pound has ever arrived at that place. 
 This evil must continue no longer it must be remedied. 
 I expect, therefore, and through you must require, that in 
 twenty days they furnish at Deposit every necessary supply." 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 57 
 
 81. Whilst these measures were taking-, the volunteers, 
 through several of their officers, were pressing- on the consi 
 deration of the general, the expiration of their term of service, 
 and claiming to be discharged on the 10th of the month. 
 From the colonel who commanded the second regiment, he re 
 ceived a letter, dated the 4th of December, 1813, in which was 
 attempted to be detailed their whole ground of complaint. 
 He began by stating, that painful as it was, he, nevertheless, 
 felt himself bound to disclose an important and unpleasant 
 truth; that, on the 10th, the service would bo deprived of the 
 regiment he commanded. He seemed to deplore, with great 
 sensibility, the scene that would be exhibited on that day, 
 should opposition be made to their departure ; and still more 
 sensibly, the consequences that would result from a disorderly 
 abandonment of the camp. He stated they had all considered 
 themselves finally discharged on the 20th of April, 1813, and 
 never knew to the contrary, until they saw his order of the 
 24th of September, 1813, requiring them to rendezvous at 
 Fayetteville, on the 4th of October, 1813 ; for the first time, 
 they then learned that they owed further services, their dis 
 charge to the contrary notwithstanding. " Thus situated, 
 there was considerable opposition to the order ; on which the 
 officers generally, as I am advised, and I know myself in par 
 ticular, g-ave it as an unequivocal opinion, that their term of 
 service would terminate on the 10th of December, 1813. 
 
 82. " They therefore look to their general, who holds their 
 confidence, for an honourable discharge on that day ; and that, 
 in every respect, he will see that justice be done them. They 
 regret that their particular situations and circumstances require 
 them to leave their general at; a time when their services are 
 important to the common cause. It would be desirable," he 
 continued, " that those men who have served with honour, 
 should be honourably discharged, and that they should return 
 to their families and friends without even the semblance of dis 
 grace ; with their general they leave it to place them in that 
 situation. They hav ? e received him as an affectionate father, 
 "whilst they have honoured, revered, and obeyed him ; but, 
 having devoted a considerable portion of their time to tho 
 service of their country, by which their domestic concerns are 
 greatly deranged, they wish to return, and attend to their own 
 affairs." 
 
 83. Although this communication announced the determina 
 tion of only a part of the volunteer brigade, he had already 
 abundant evidence that the defection was but too general. 
 
 c5 
 
58 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Ghap. 
 
 The difficulties which the general had heretofore been compelled to 
 encounter, from the discontents of his troops, might well induce 
 him to regret that a spirit of insubordination should again 
 threaten to appear in his camp. That he might, if possible, 
 prevent it, he hastened to lay before them the error and impro 
 priety of their views, and the consequences involved, should they 
 persist in their purpose. 
 
 84. "I know not," he observed, " what scenes will be exhi 
 bited on the 10th instant, nor what consequences are to flow 
 from them here or elsewhere; but as I shall have the conscious 
 ness that they are not imputuble to any misconduct of mine, 
 I trust I shall have the firmness not to shrink from a discharge 
 of my duty. It will be well, however, for those who intend 
 to become actors in those scenes, and who are about to hazard 
 so much on the correctness of their opinions, to examine before 
 hand, with great caution and deliberation, the grounds on which 
 their pretensions rest. Are they founded on any falsa assur 
 ances of mine, or upon any deception that has been practised 
 towards them ? Was not the act of congress, under which they 
 are engaged, directed, by my general order, to be read, and 
 expounded to them before they enrolled themselves ? That 
 order will testify, and so will the recollection of every general 
 officer of my division. It is not pretended, that those who now 
 claim to be discharged, were not leg-ally and fairly enrolled 
 under the act of congress of the 6th of February, 1812. Have 
 they performed the service required of them by that act, and 
 which they then solemnly undertook to perform ? That re 
 quired one year's service out of two, to be computed from the 
 day of rendezvous, unless they should be sooner discharged. 
 Has one year's service been performed ? This cannot be seri 
 ously pretended. Have they then been discharged ? It is 
 said they have, and by me. To account for so extraordinary 
 a belief, it may be necessary to take a review of past circum 
 stances. 
 
 85. " More than twelve months have elapsed since we were 
 called upon to avenge the injured rights of our country. We 
 obeyed the call ! In the midst of hardships, which none but 
 those to whom liberty is dear could have borne without a mur 
 mur, we descended the Mississippi. It was believed our services 
 were wanted in the prosecution of the just war in which our 
 country w r as engaged, and we were prepared to render them. 
 But, though we were disappointed in our expectations, we 
 established for Tennessee a name which will long do her honour. 
 .At length, we received a letter from the secretary of war direct- 
 
.III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. '59 
 
 ing- our dismission. You well recollect the circumstances of 
 wretchedness in which this order was calculated to place us. 
 By it, we were deprived of every article of public property ; 
 :no provision was made for the payment of our troops, or their 
 subsistence on their return march ; whilst many of our sick, 
 unable to help themselves, must have perished. Against the 
 opinion of many, I marched them back to their homes before 
 I dismissed them. Your regiment, at its own request, was dis 
 missed at Columbia. This was accompanied with a certificate 
 to each man, expressing the acts under which he had been en 
 rolled, and the length of the tour he had performed. This it is 
 which is now attempted to be construed ' a final discharge ;' 
 but surely it cannot be forgotten by any officer or soldier, how 
 sacredly they pledged themselves, before they were dismissed, 
 .or received that certificate, cheerfully to obey the voice of their 
 country, if it should re-summon them into service ; neither can 
 it be forgotten, I dare hope, for what purpose that certificate 
 was given ; it was to secure, if possible, to those brave men, 
 who had shown such readiness to serve their country, certain 
 extra emoluments, specified in the seventh section of the act 
 under which they had engaged, in the event they were not re 
 called into service for the residue of their term. 
 
 86. "Is it true, then, that my solicitude for the interest of 
 the volunteers, is to be made by them a pretext for disgracing 
 a name which they have rendered illustrious ? Is a certificate, 
 designed solely for their benefit, to become the rallying word 
 for mutiny? strange perversion of feeling and of reasoning! 
 Have I really any power to discharge men whose term of service 
 has not expired ? If I were weak or wicked enough to attempt 
 the exercise of such a power, does any one believe, the soldier 
 would be thereby exonerated from the obligation he has volun 
 tarily taken upon himself to his government ? I should become 
 a traitor to the important concern which has been entrusted to 
 my management, while the soldier, who had been deceived 
 by a false hope of liberation, would be still liable to redeem 
 his pledge ; I should disgrace myself, without benefiting you. 
 
 87. " I can only deplore the situation of those officers who 
 have undertaken to persuade their men that their term of service 
 will expire on the 10th. In giving their opinions to this effect, 
 they have acted indiscreetly, and without sufficient authority. 
 It would be the most pleasing act of my life, to restore them 
 with honour to their families. Nothing would pain me more 
 than that any other sentiments should be felt towards them than 
 those of gratitude and esteem. On all occasions, it has been 
 
60 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap; 
 
 my highest happiness to promote their interest, and even to 
 gratify their wishes, where, with propriety, it could be done. 
 When in the lower country, believing that, in order for their 
 dismissal, they had been improperly treated, I even solicited the 
 government to discharge them, finally, from the obligations into 
 which they had entered. You know the answer of the secretary 
 of war ; that neither he nor the president, as he believed, had 
 the power to discharge them. How, then, can it be required of 
 me to do so ? 
 
 88. " The moment it is signified to me by any competent 
 authority, even by the governor of Tennessee, to whom I have 
 written on the subject, or by General Pinckney, w r ho is now ap 
 pointed to the command, that the volunteers may be exonerated 
 from further service, that moment I will pronounce it, with the 
 greatest satisfaction. I have only the power of pronouncing a 
 discharge, not of giving it, in any case; a distinction which 
 I would wish should be borne in mind. Already have I sent to 
 raise volunteers, on my responsibility, to complete a campaign 
 which has been so happily begun, and thus far so fortunately 
 prosecuted. The moment they arrive, and I am assured that, 
 fired by our exploits, they will hasten in crowds, on the first in 
 timation that we need their services, they will be substituted in 
 the place of those who are discontented here ; the latter will 
 then be permitted to return to their homes, with all the honour 
 which, under such circumstances, they can carry along with 
 them. But I still cherish the hope, that their dissatisfaction 
 and complaints have been greatly exaggerated. I cannot, must 
 not believe, that the ' Volunteers of Tennessee/ a name ever 
 dear to fame, will disgrace themselves, and a country which 
 they have honoured, >by abandoning her standard, as mutineers 
 and deserters ; but should I be disappointed, and compelled to 
 resign this pleasing hope, one thing I will not resign my duty. 
 Mutiny and sedition, so long as I possess the power of quelling 1 
 them, shall be put down; and even when left destitute of this, 
 I will still be found, in the last extremity, endeavouring to dis 
 charge the duty I owe my country and myself." 
 
 89. To the platoon officers, who addressed him on the same 
 subject, he replied with nearly the same spirited feeling ; but 
 discontent was too deeply fastened, and by designing men had 
 been too artfully fomented, to be removed by any thing like 
 argument or entreaty. At length, on the evening of the 9th 
 of December, 1813, General Hall hastened to the tent of Jack 
 son with information that his whole brigade was in a state of 
 mutiny, and making preparations to move forcibly off. This 
 
III.] INDIAN CAMPAIGN, 1813. 61 
 
 was a measure which every consideration of policy, duty, and 
 honour, required Jackson to oppose ; and to this purpose he 
 instantly applied all the means he possessed. He immediately 
 issued the following general order : " The commanding- gene 
 ral being informed that an actual mutiny exists in his camp, all 
 officers and soldiers are commanded to put it down. The officers 
 and soldiers of the first brigade will, without delay, parade on 
 the west side of the fort, and await further orders." The artil 
 lery company, with two small field- pieces, being posted in the 
 front and rear, and the militia, under the command of Colonel 
 Wynne, on the eminences, in advance, were ordered to prevent 
 any forcible departure of the volunteers. 
 
 90. The general rode along the line, which had been pre 
 viously formed agreeably to his orders, and addressed them, by 
 companies, in a strain of impassioned eloquence. He feelingly 
 expatiated on their former good conduct, and the esteem and 
 applause it had secured them ; and pointed to the disgrace 
 which they must heap upon themselves, their families, and 
 country, by persisting, even if they could succeed, in their 
 present mutiny. He told them, however, they should not suc 
 ceed but by passing over his body ; that even in opposing their 
 mutinous spirit, he should perish honourably by perishing at 
 his post, and in the discharge of his duty. " Reinforcements 5 ' 
 he continued, " are preparing to hasten to my assistance : 
 it cannot be long before they will arrive. I am, too, in daily 
 expectation of receiving information whether you may be dis 
 charged or not until then, you must not, and shall not retire. 
 I have done with entreaty, it has been used long enough. 
 I will attempt it no more. You must now determine whether 
 you will go or peaceably remain : if you still persist in your 
 determination to move forcibly off, the point between us shall 
 soon be decided." At first they hesitated; he demanded an 
 explicit and positive answer. They still hesitated, and he com 
 manded the artillerist to prepare the match ; he himself remain 
 ing in front of the volunteers, and within the line of fire, which 
 he intended soon to order. Alarmed at his apparent determina 
 tion, and dreading the consequences involved in such a contest; 
 " Let us return," was presently lisped along the line, and soon 
 after determined upon. The officers now came forward and 
 pledged themselves for their men, who either nodded assent, or 
 openly expressed a willingness to retire to their quarters, and 
 remain without further tumult, until information were had or 
 the expected aid should arrive. Thus passed away a moment of 
 the greatest peril, and pregnant with important consequences. 
 
62 LIFE OF JACKSOX. i [Chap. 
 
 91. This matchless and ever- memorable scene, the reader 
 will observe, took place on the 10th of December, 1813; the 
 volunteers having- formed their first rendezvous, as he will re 
 collect, on the !0th of December, 1812. One year had certainly 
 expired ; but there had not been a year's service ; for they had 
 not been in service from the 1st of May to the 10th of October, 
 1813 ; so that there remained five months of the year's service 
 to come. The general was right in his construction of the 
 bargain ; but, besides this, to have forsaken the campaign in 
 such a manner/ would have been ruinous in the extreme : the 
 
 -savage enemy not yet subdued, but exasperated to the last de 
 gree, would have assailed the unprotected frontiers, and have 
 drenched in the blood of the defenceless citizens. 
 
 92. This difficulty got over was by no means the last which 
 he had to encounter : discontents were everlastingly rising up 
 in his army ; the Governor of Tennessee recommended him to 
 abandon his enterprise ; he had to reject this advice with scorn. 
 One general retired with his brigade ; opposition after opposi 
 tion he met with from different officers, yet he proceeded on to 
 assault the blood-thirsty enemy, in spite of every impediment, 
 though he had to imprison officers, to hang a militia soldier, 
 and to do things which it appears almost to require credulity 
 unbounded to believe to be true. Finally, however, he suc 
 ceeded ; he subdued the savage tribes ; he reduced them to sue 
 for pardon and for peace ; he concluded a treaty with them-; 
 -took them out of the hands of the more crafty and more power 
 ful enemy of America ; and cleared the way for a battle, single* 
 handed, with the British, on the Gulf of Mexico ; and, finally 
 at New Orleans. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 FROM APRIL 1814 TO DECEMBER 1814. 
 
 Perfidious conduct of the Spanish Governor of Pensacola. Jackson's r<?- 
 monstrance. Nicholts' Proclamation. Defeat of the British at Fort 
 Bowyer, by Major Lawrence. Reduction oj ' Pensacola t and retreat of the 
 British. Jackson's arrival at New Orleans. Preparations made by the 
 British for the reduction of New Orleans. 
 
 '93. He was now (spring of 1814) appointed to be a major- 
 general in the service of the United States. The protection of 
 the coast, near the mouths of the Mississippi, was entrusted 
 
JV.] MARCHES TOWARDS PENSACOLA. 63 
 
 to him ; and his first attention was turned to the comfort, the 
 encouragement, the protection, which the savages received from 
 the Spanish governor, and Spanish authorities, in the fortress 
 of Pensacola ; which is situated on the Gulf of Mexico, at 
 about a hundred miles distance from New Orleans, about thirty 
 miles from the frontiers of the State of Alabama, and about a 
 hundred miles from the main fastness of the Creek Indians. 
 His opinion was, that the savages were always receiving assist 
 ance from this Spanish garrison, and from the British, through 
 the means of that garrison ; and he was persuaded that, finally, 
 the British would assail New Orleans by the means of prepara 
 tions made at Pensacola. On his way to the south, he learnt 
 that about three hundred British troops had landed, and were 
 fortifying- themselves at no great distance from Pensacola. In 
 this slate of things, he endeavoured to prevail upon the Spanish 
 governor to desist from all acts injurious to the United States. 
 The Spanish governor shuffled at first, and afterwards lied as 
 boldly as a harlot, or a valet de chambre. By this time, and 
 before this time, the news had been received of the fall of Na 
 poleon, and of his banishment to Elba. This event had inspired 
 with new villany, and new courage, every villain upon the face 
 of this earth. This Spanish garrison was, in fact, a rendezvous 
 for the British : it was a rendezvous for the savages, enemies 
 of the United States. Captain Gordon, sent by Jackson to see 
 what was passing, in the month of August (1814), reported to 
 the general, that he had seen from fifty to two hundred officers 
 and soldiers, a park of artillery, about five hundred savages under 
 the drill of British officers, and dressed in the English uniform. 
 He wrote to the government, and remonstrated with it upon the 
 subject of its timidity in permitting this. The secretary at war, 
 that same x\rmstrong that we have mentioned before, in the 
 2nd chapter, coincided with him in opinion upon this point, and, 
 indeed, authorized him to attack Pensacola; but, though this 
 letter bore date of the 18th of July 1814, it was never received 
 hy Jackson, until the \7t1i of January, 1815; that is to say, 
 nine days after the British army had been partly slaughtered, 
 and partly driven into the sea before New Orleans ! After 
 writing this letter, this same Armstrong took care to leave the 
 city of Washington totally deprived of all defence. It is impos 
 sible to believe that there was not treason here ; at the very 
 least it was a contrivance to have in reserve the grounds of 
 throwing the blame of failure upon Jackson. 
 
 94. Mobile is a fort belonging to the Americans, at the head 
 of a little bay in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the territory of 
 
64 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 Alabama. To the Mobile he repaired. There he learned that 
 the approach of a great British force might be expected ; and 
 that the final object was, the capture of the city of New Orleans. 
 At this time (August, 1814) Colonel Nicholls of the British 
 army arrived at Pensacola, whence he issued a proclamation to 
 the southern and western inhabitants of the United States ; and 
 from that garrison he issued his proclamation, every word and 
 every syllable of which ought to be remembered for ages by the 
 people of England, as well as the people of America. 
 
 Proclamation of Colonel Nicholls to ihe southern and western inhabitants. 
 
 Natives of Louisiana! on you the first call is made, to assist in 
 liberating from a faithless, imbecile government, your paternal soil : 
 Spaniards, Frenchmen, Italians, and British, whether settled or residing 
 for a time in Louisiana, on you, also, I call, to aid me in this just cause : 
 the American usurpation in this country must be abolished, and the law 
 ful owners of the soil put in possession. I am at the head of a large 
 todv of Indians, well armed, disciplined, and commanded by British 
 officers a good train of artillery, with every requisite, seconded by the 
 powerful aid of a numerous British and Spanish squadron of ships and 
 vessels of war. Be not alarmed, inhabitants of the country, at our ap 
 proach ; the same good faith and disinterestedness, which have distin 
 guished the conduct of Britons in Europe, accompany them here ; you 
 vrill have no fear of litigious taxes imposed on you for the purpose of 
 carrying on an unnatural and unjust war; your property, your laws, the 
 peace and tranquillity of your country, will be guaranteed to you by mea 
 who will suffer no infringement of theirs ; rest assured that these brave 
 red men only burn with an ardent desire of satisfaction for the wrongs 
 they have suffered from the Americans ; to join you in liberating these 
 southern provinces from their voke, and drive them into those limits 
 formerly prescribed by my sovereign. The Indians have pledged them 
 selves, in the most solemn manner, not to injure, in the slightest degree, 
 the persons or properties of any but enemies. A flag over any door, 
 whether Spanish, French, or British, will be a certain protection; nor 
 dare any Indian put his foot on the threshold thereof, under penalty of 
 death from his own countrymen ; not even an enemv will an Indian put 
 to death, except resisting in arms ; and as for injuring helpless women 
 and children, the red men, by their good conduct, and treatment to them, 
 will (if it be possible) make the Americans blush for their more inhuman 
 conduct, lately on the Escambia, and within a neutral territory. 
 
 Inhabitants of Kentucky, you have too long borne with grievous im 
 positions the whole brunt of the war has fallen on your brave sons ; be 
 imposed on no longer, but either range yourselves under the standard of 
 your forefathers, or observe a strict neutrality. If you comply with 
 either of these offers, whatever provisions you send down, will be paid 
 for in dollars, and the safety of the persons bringing it, as well as the free 
 navigation of the Mississippi, guaranteed to you. 
 
 Men of Kentucky, let me call to your view (and I trust to your ab 
 horrence) the conduct of those factions which hurried you into this 
 civil, unjust, and unnatural war, at a time when Great Britain was 
 straining every nerve, in defence of her own, and the liberties of the 
 world when the bravest of her sons were fighting and bleeding in so 
 
IV.] REDUCES PENSACOLA, 1814. 65 
 
 sacred a cause when she was spending millions of her treasure in 
 endeavouring to pull down one of the most formidable and dangerous 
 tyrants that ever disgraced the form of man when groaning Europe was 
 almost in her last jiasp when Britons alone showed an undaunted front 
 basely did those assassins endeavour to stab her from the rear; she 
 has turned on them, renovated from the bloorly, but successful struggle 
 Europe is happy and free, and she now hastens, justly, to avenge the 
 unprovoked insult. Show them that you are not collectively unjust i 
 leave that contemptible few to shift for themselves : let those slaves or 
 the tyrant send an embassy to Elba, and implore his aid ; but let every 
 honest, upright American spurn them with united contempt. After the 
 experience of twenty-one years, can you longer support thos<- brawlers 
 for liberty, who call it freedom, when themselves are free 1 Be no longer 
 their dupes accept of my offers everything 1 have promised in this 
 paper, I guarantee to vou, on the sacred honour of a British officer. 
 Given under my hand, at my head- quarters, 
 
 Pensacola, this 29th day of August, 1814. 
 
 EDWARD NICHOLLS. 
 
 95. I am aware that the reader will laugh at this "sacred 
 honour of a British officer," who says, that he is "coming 1 at 
 the head of a large body of savages," and who tells them, that 
 he will " free them from litigious taxes." I wonder whether 
 we in England are now paying taxes to keep this Colonel 
 Nicholls and his family. However, here is this man of " sacred 
 honour" telling the Americans, that his "headquarters" are 
 at Pensacola ; though the scoundrel Spaniard pleaded his neu 
 trality. 
 
 96. The first act of hostility here, on the part of the British, 
 was on a fort, called FortBowyer, on the Mobile. On the 15th 
 of September, 1814, Nicholls and Woodbine approached by 
 land, while several vessels approached by sea, mounting alto 
 gether ninety guns. This expedition ended in the blowing 
 up of one of the English ships, greatly damaging another, and 
 sending off the proclamation-maker, with the loss of one of his 
 ships, and, as was said, one of his eyes. Major Lawrence com 
 manded in the American fort. His brave band consisted of only 
 one hundred and thirty men ; while the force of the British was, 
 as we have seen, ninety guns by sea, while Nicholls and Wood 
 bine assaulted the fort by land, with a twelve-pound howitzer, 
 and several hundreds of marines, sailors, and savages. This 
 was an affair singularly honourable to Major Lawrence and his 
 men. The disparity of force was incredible ; and this disgraceful 
 beating at the outset must have had a considerable effect upon 
 the enemy. Jackson was, however, resolved to break up the 
 rendezvous of Pensacola ; and, on the 6th of November, 1814, 
 he marched against it, demolished all its defences and protec 
 tions ; drove out the British and the savages, and taught Nicholls 
 
66 .' LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 and the Spanish governor, that, though Bonaparte was banished 
 to Elba, there was still one country left which was not to be 
 insulted with impunity, by the satellites of despotism. 
 
 97. Having- given the haughty and insolent foe a foretaste of 
 that which was to come, he repaired to that which was to be 
 the grand scene of action. He arrived at the city of New Or 
 leans on the 1st of December, 1814. News had been received 
 of the approach of a British fleet. The first intelligence of this 
 
 . sort was received on the 4th of December. Cochrane, who com 
 manded the British fleet, and who had the celebrated Sir George 
 Cockburn under him, had collected all their forces together, 
 
 'after they had been beaten off from before Baltimore, and had 
 sailed off for New Orleans, whither Nicholls had been sent 
 before to prepare the way for the proclamation which we have 
 just seen issued from his head quarters at Pensacola. They 
 were to be joined, as they afterwards were, by a strong body of 
 the " heroes of the Peninsula." Their force altogether was pra- 
 digious : ships of the line, frigates, sloops of war, fire-ships, 
 great numbers of furnaces to heat red-hot shot ; Congreve 
 rockets ; all manner of materials for sapping and mining and 
 blowing up : an expedition costing, in all probability, more than 
 a million of pounds sterling in the fitting out. There were 
 eleven thousand regular "heroes of the Peninsula;" there 
 were four generals, two admirals, at the least ; twelve thousand, 
 at the least, of seamen and marines, artillery, in abundance, 
 of all sorts; perhaps, a hundred gun-boats and barges; and 
 every expense ready to be incurred for the employment of per 
 sons of ail sorts ; besides numerous bands of savages ready to 
 come in, if the attack had succeeded. Here, after all, there was 
 nothing equal to the perils of the Indian campaign ; but there 
 was quite enough to daunt any man that ever lived, except the 
 man who had to face all this. 
 
V.] .- 67 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FROM THE IST OF DECEMBER 1814 TO MARCH 1815. 
 
 Defence of Neio Orleans. Jackson is beset with traitors and spies. Arms 
 not sent to him. Enemy lands on the C 23rd of December. He marches in 
 the night and drives them hack. Divers smaller engagements. The trai 
 tors in the assembly and in the town conspire against him. Defeats the 
 British icitli great slaughter, Qth of January. Drives them out of the 
 country. His farewell address to liis army. The sneaking account given 
 by the British government of this important transaction. 
 
 98. We have seen that Jackson, having received intelligence 
 which made him believe, and quite certain, indeed, that the in 
 tention of the British was to get possession of the mouths of the 
 Mississippi, of the whole state of Louisiana, and particularly of 
 that rich prize, the city of New Orleans, crammed with sugar, 
 coffee, flour, cotton, and all sorts of merchandise, repaired 
 thither ; that is to say, to the city itself, on the 1st of December, 
 1814. On the 6th oif December, he received certain intelligence 
 that a large British force was oft" the port of Pensacola, destined 
 against New Orleans ; that it amounted to about eighty vessels, 
 and that more than double that number were momentarily looked 
 
 , for to form a junction with those already arrived ; that there 
 were in this fleet vessels of all descriptions, contrived for the 
 most deadly purposes, with a large body of land troops. That 
 Admiral Cochrane had the command, and that his ship, the 
 
 Tonnant, was then (4th December) lying off Pensacola. 
 
 99. The hour now arrived, then, in which was to be tried 
 the naked courage of undisciplined Americans against the best 
 that Great Britain was able to produce, with every advantage to 
 boot. Without stopping to relate the preliminary movements, 
 and all the preparations for attack made by the British, I come, 
 at once, to the beginning of the fighting, which took place on 
 the 23rd of December, when, in the evening, the British made 
 a landing, and when Jackson resolved, at all events, to march 
 and give them battle. I must stop here, however, to observe 
 on something much more interesting than the mere fighting : it 
 is not mere fighting that will depict to us the true character of a 
 general and a statesman. Here Jackson had to contend against 
 difficulties and dangers of every description. The comparatively 
 small number, and the want of discipline of his troops, I do not 
 reckon amongst his difficulties ; but treason, in every quarter 
 and corner of the city and the state, which he had to defend; 
 
68 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 spies continually communicating with the enemy ; base and 
 cowardly French and Spanish merchants, and paper money 
 makers, all puffed up with exultation at the triumph of the des 
 pots of Europe and the banishment of Napoleon to Elba (events 
 which had just taken place), and all full of the hope and expec 
 tation, that Jackson and his army would be cut to pieces (k 
 being* to be observed, that this state of Louisiana had been pur 
 chased from the French by the Americans no longer before 
 than in the year 1811); newspaper traitors endeavouring to 
 sow discontent in his army, and when he imprisoned the author, 
 a traitor judge found to order his release on a habeas corpus, 
 whereupon he imprisoned the traitor judge ; but, above all 
 things, a want of arms, owing to the scandalous neglect of 
 officers of the federal government, which made it perilous for 
 him to suffer communication between even his own lines, it 
 being absolutely necessary for him to keep from the enemy a 
 knowledge of his inarmed and destitute situation. These things, 
 much more than the force of the enemy, and all their immense 
 means of attack, rendered his situation perilous. Driven to the 
 extremity of proclaiming martial law, and of enforcing it with the 
 utmost severity ; there was he, with his handful of faithful men, 
 who had come down to him, unarmed and unprovided, a distance 
 of five hundred miles ; with faithful generals and brother-offi 
 cers, to be sure; but with a people to defend, who were ready to- 
 stab him in the back, while a powerful invading army was coming 
 at him in front ; and even with a legislative assembly proposing- 
 to capitulate with the enemy, and to surrender themselves, 
 their city, and their state, to the mercy of that enemy. 
 
 100. It was with all these difficulties and dangers staring him 
 in the face, that he boldly proceeded on to the deliverance of 
 his country ; and, now, we are going to enter on the most in 
 teresting details of his proceedings in effecting this deliverance. 
 
 101. On the 23rd of December, as has been before related, 
 the enemy made a landing ; and Jackson wanting to gain time 
 to complete his lines, and also thinking it of importance to give 
 the enemy a taste of the difficulties which he would have to 
 overcome, determined to proceed to attack the enemy in the 
 night of the 23rd of December. Generals Coffee and Carroll 
 were ordered to proceed inmediately from their encampment, 
 and join him with all haste. Although four miles above, they 
 arrived in the city in less than two hours after the order had 
 been issued. These forces, with the seventh and forty-fourth 
 regiments, the Louisiana troops, and Colonel Hind's dragoons, 
 from Mississippi, constituted the strength of his army, whick 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 69 
 
 could be carried into action against an enemy whose numbers, 
 at this time, could only be conjectured. It was thought ad 
 visable that General Carroll and his division should be disposed 
 in the rear, for the reason that there was no correct information 
 of the force landed through Villery's canal, and because Jackson 
 feared that this probably might be merely a feint intended to 
 divert his attention, while a much stronger and more numerous 
 division, having already gained some point higher on the lake, 
 might, by advancing in his absence, gain his rear, and succeed 
 in their designs. Uncertain of their movements, it was essen 
 tial he should be prepared for the worst, and, by different dis 
 positions of his troops, be ready to resist, in whatever quarter 
 he might be assailed. Carroll, therefore, at the head of his 
 division, and Governor Claiborne, with the state militia, were 
 directed to take post on the Gentilly road, which leads from. 
 Chef Menteur to New Orleans, and to defend it to the last 
 extremity. 
 
 102. Alarm pervaded the city. The marching and counter 
 marching of the troops, the proximity of the enemy, with the 
 approaching contest, and uncertainty of the issue, had excited 
 a general fear. Already might the British be on their way and 
 at hand, before the necessary arrangements could be made to 
 oppose them. To prevent this, Colonel Hayne, with two com 
 panies of riflemen, and the Mississippi dragoons, was sent 
 forward to rdconnoitre their camp, learn their position and 
 their numbers, and if they should be found advancing, to harass 
 and oppose them at every step, until the main body should 
 arrive. 
 
 103. Every thing being ready, General Jackson commenced 
 his march, to meet and fight the veteran troops of England. 
 An inconsiderable circumstance, at this moment, evinced what 
 unlimited confidence was reposed in his skill and bravery. As 
 his troops were marching through the city, his ears were 
 assailed with the screams and cries of innumerable females, who 
 had collected on the way, and seemed to apprehend the worst 
 of consequences. Feeling for their distresses, and anxious to 
 quiet them, he directed Mr. Livingston, one of his aids-de-camp, 
 to address them in the French language. " Say to them," said 
 he, " not to be alarmed : the enemy shall never reach the city/* 
 It operated like an electric shock. To know that he himself 
 was not apprehensive of a fatal result, inspired them with 
 altered feelings ; sorrow was ended, and their grief converted 
 into hope and confidence. 
 
 104. The general arrived in view of the enemva little before 
 
70 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 dark. Having 1 previously ascertained from Colonel Hayne, who 
 had been sent in advance, their position, and that their strength 
 was about two thousand men,* he immediately concerted the 
 mode of attack, and hastened to execute it. Commodore Pat 
 terson, who commanded the naval forces on this station, with 
 Captain Henly, on board the Caroline, had been directed to drop 
 down, anchor in front of their line, and open upon them 
 from the guns of the schooner ; this being the appointed signal, 
 when given, the attack was to be waged simultaneously on all 
 sides. The fires from their camp disclosed their position, and 
 showed their encampment, formed with their left resting on the 
 river, and extending at right angles into the open field. Ge 
 neral Coffee, with his brigade, Colonel Hind's dragoons, and 
 Captain Beal's company of riflemen, was ordered to oblique to 
 the left, and, by a circuitous" route, avoid their picquets, and 
 endeavour to turn their right wing ; having succeeded in this, 
 to form his line, and press the enemy towards the river, where . 
 they would be exposed more completely to the fire of the Caro 
 line. The rest of the troops, consisting of the regulars, 
 Ploache's city volunteers, Daquin's coloured troops, the artil 
 lery under Lieutenant Spotts, supported by a company of ma 
 rines commanded by Colonel M'Kee, advanced on the road, 
 along the bank of the Mississippi, and were commanded by 
 Jackson in person. 
 
 105. General Coffee with silence and caution had advanced 
 beyond their picquets, next the swamp, and nearly reached the 
 point to which he was ordered, when a broadside from the Ca 
 roline announced the battle begun. Patterson had proceeded . 
 slowly, giving time, as he believed, for the execution of those 
 arrangements contemplated on the shore. So sanguine had the 
 British been in the belief that they would be kindly received, 
 and little opposition attempted, that the Caroline floated by the 
 sentinels, and anchored before their camp, without any kind of 
 molestation. On passing the front picquet she was hailed in a 
 low tone of voice, but not returning an answer, no further 
 question was made. This, added to some other attendant cir 
 cumstances, confirmed the opinion that they believed her a 
 vessel laden with provisions, which had been sent out from New 
 Orleans, and was intended for them. Having reached what, 
 from their fires, appeared to be the centre of their encampment, 
 
 * This opinion, as it afterwards appeared, was incorrect. The num 
 ber of the British, at the commencement of the action, was three thou 
 sand, and was shortly afterwards increased by additional forces : Jackson's 
 strength did not exceed two thousand. 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 71 
 
 her anchors were cast, and her character and business disclosed 
 from her guns. So unexpected an attack produced a mo 
 mentary confusion ; but recovering 1 , she was answered by a dis 
 charge of musketry, and flight of Congreve rockets, which 
 passed without injury, while the grape and canister from her ' 
 guns were pouring destructively on them To take away the 
 certainty of aim afforded by the light from their fires, these 
 were immediately extinguished, and they retired two or three 
 hundred yards into the open field, if not out of the reach of the 
 cannon, at least to a distance, where, by the darkness of the 
 night, they would be protected. 
 
 106. Coffee had dismounted his men, and turned his horses 
 loose, at a large ditch, next the swamp, in the rear of Larond's 
 plantation, and gained, as he believed, the centre of the enemy's 
 line, when the signal from the Caroline reached him. He directly 
 wheeled his columns in, and extending his line parallel with the 
 river, moved towards their camp. He had advanced scarcely 
 more than a hundred yards, when he received a heavy fire, from 
 a line formed in his front ; this, to him, was an unexpected 
 circumstance, as he supposed the enemy lying principally at a 
 distance, and that the only opposition he should meet, until he 
 approached towards the levee,* would be from their advanced : 
 picquets. The circumstance of his coming in contact with them 
 so soon, was owing to the severe attack of the schooner, which 
 'had compelled the enemy to abandon their camp, and form 
 without the reach of her guns. The moon shone, but reflected 
 her light too feebly to discover objects at a distance. The only 
 means, therefore, of producing certain effect, with the kind of 
 force engaged, which consisted chiefly of riflemen, was not to 
 ' venture at random, but to discharge their pieces only when 
 there should be a certainty of felling the object. 'J his order 
 being given, the line pressed on and having gained a position 
 near enough to distinguish, a general fire was given ; it was 
 well directed, and too severe and destructive to be withstood ; 
 the enemy gave way and retreated, rallied, formed, were 
 charged, and again retreated. The gallant yeomanry, led by 
 their brave commander, urged fearlessly on, and drove their in 
 vaders from every position they attempted to maintain. Their 
 
 * Banks thrown up on the margin of the river to confine the stream 
 to its bed ; and which are extended along the Mississippi on both sides, 
 from the termination of the highlands, near Baton Houge. Frequently 
 the river in its vernal fl >ods rises above the elevation of the plains, and 
 then the security of the country depends on the strength of those levees ; 
 they not uuirequently break, when incalculable injury is the conse- ' 
 quence. 
 
72 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 general was under no necessity to encourage and allure tliem to 
 deeds of valour : his own example was sufficient to excite them. 
 Always in the midst, he displayed a coolness and disregard of 
 danger, calling to his troops, that they had often said they 
 could fight now was the time to prove it. 
 
 107. The British, driven back by the resolute firmness and 
 ardour of the assailants, had now reached a grove of orange 
 trees, with a ditch running past it, protected by a fence on the 
 margin. Here they were halted and formed for battle. It was 
 a favourable position, promising security, and was occupied with 
 a confidence they could not be forced to yield it. Coffee's 
 dauntless yeomanry, strengthened in their hopes of success, 
 moved on, nor discovered the advantages against them, until a fire 
 from the entire British line showed their position and defence. 
 A sudden check was given ; but it was only momentary, for 
 gathering fresh ardour, they charged across the ditch, gave a 
 deadly and destructive fire, and forced them to retire. The re 
 treat continued, until gaining a similar position, the British 
 made another stand, and were again driven from it with con 
 siderable loss. 
 
 108. Thus the battle raged on the left wing, until the British 
 reached the bank of the river ; here a determined stand was 
 made, and further encroachments resisted : for half an hour the 
 conflict was extremely violent on both sides. The American 
 troops could not be driven from their purpose, nor the British 
 made to yield their ground ; but at length, having suffered 
 greatly, the latter were under the necessity of taking refuge 
 behind the levee, which afforded a breast-work, and protected 
 them from the fatal fire of our riflemen. Coffee, unacquainted 
 with their position, for the darkness had greatly increased, al 
 ready contemplated again to charge them ; but one of his officers, 
 who had discovered the advantage their situation gave them, 
 assured him it was too hazardous ; that they could be driven no 
 further, and would, from the point they occupied, resist with the 
 bayonet, and repel, with considerable loss, any attempt that 
 might be made to dislodge them. The place of their retire 
 ment was covered in front by a strong bank, which had been 
 extended into the field, to keep out the river, in consequence of 
 the first being encroached upon, and undermined in several 
 places : the former, however, was still entire in many parts, 
 which, interposing between them and the Mississippi, afforded 
 security from the broadsides of the schooner, which lay off at 
 some distance. A further apprehension, lest, by moving still 
 nearer to the river, he might greatly expose himself to the fire 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 73 
 
 of the Caroline, which was yet spiritedly maintaining the con 
 flict, induced Coffee to retire until he could hear from the com 
 manding- general, and receive his further orders. 
 
 109. During this time the right wing, under Jackson, had 
 been no less prompt and active. A detachment of artillery, 
 under Lieutenant Spotts, supported by sixty marines, and con 
 stituting the advance, had moved down the road next the levee. 
 On their left was the seventh regiment of infantry, led by Major 
 Piere. The forty-fourth, commanded by Major Baker, was 
 formed on the extreme left ; while Plauche's and Daquin's bat 
 talions of city guards were directed to be posted in the centre, 
 between the seventh and forty-fourth. The general had ordered 
 Colonel Ross, who during the night acted in the capacity of 
 brigadier-general, for he was without a brigadier, on hearing 
 the signal from the Caroline, to move off by heads of companies, 
 and, on reaching the enemy's line, to deploy, and unite the left 
 wing of his command with the right of General Coffee's. This 
 order was omitted to be executed ; and the consequence was an 
 early introduction of confusion in the ranks, whereby was pre 
 vented the important design of uniting the two divisions. 
 
 110. Instead of moving in column from the first position, the 
 troops, with the exception of the seventh regiment, next the 
 person of the general, which advanced agreeably to the instruc 
 tions that had been given, were formed and marched in extended 
 line. Having sufficient ground to form on at first, no incon 
 venience was at the moment sustained ; but this advantage pre 
 sently failing, the centre became compressed, and was forced in 
 the rear. The river, from where they were formed, gradually 
 inclined to the left, and diminished the space originally pos 
 sessed : farther in stood Larond's house, surrounded by a grove 
 of clustered orange trees : this pressing the left, and the river 
 the right wing to the centre, formed a curve, which presently 
 threw the principal part of Plauche's and Daquin's battalions 
 without the line. This inconvenience might have been reme 
 died, but for the briskness of the advance, and for the darkness 
 of the night. A heavy fire from behind a fence, immediately 
 before them, had brought the enemy to view. Acting in obe 
 dience to their orders, not to waste their ammunition at random, 
 our troops had pressed forward against the opposition in their 
 front, and thereby threw those battalions in the rear. 
 
 111. A fog rising from the river, and which, added to the 
 smoke from the guns, was covering the plain, gradually dimi 
 nished the little light shed by the moon, and greatly increased 
 the darkness of the night : no clue was left to ascertain how or 
 
74 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 where the enemy were situated. There was no alternative but 
 to move on, in the direction of their fire, which subjected the 
 assailants to material disadvantages. The British, driven from 
 their first position, had retired back, and occupied another, be 
 hind a deep ditch, that ran out of the Mississippi towards the 
 swamp, on the margin of which was a wood-railed fence. Here, 
 strengthened by increased numbers, they again opposed the ad 
 vance of our troops. Having- waited until they had approached 
 sufficiently near to be discovered, from their fastnesses they dis 
 charged a fire upon the advancing army. Instantly our battery 
 was formed, and poured destructively upon them ; while the 
 infantry, pressing forward, aided in the conflict, which at this 
 point was for some time spiritedly maintained. At this moment 
 a brisk sally was made upon our advance, when the marines, 
 unequal to the assault, were already giving way. The adjutant- 
 general, and Colonels Piatt and Chotard, with a part of the 
 seventh, hastening to their support, drove the enemy, and saved 
 the artillery from capture. General Jackson, perceiving the 
 decided advantages which were derived from the position they 
 occupied, ordered their line to be charged. It was obeyed with 
 cheerfulness, and executed with promptness. Pressing on, our 
 troops gained the ditch, and, pouring across it a well-aimed fire, 
 compelled them to retreat, and to abandon their entrenchment. 
 The plain, on which they were contending, was cut to pieces, by 
 races from the river, to convey the water to the swamp. The 
 enemy were, therefore, very soon enabled to occupy another 
 position, equally favourable with the one whence they had been 
 just driven, where they formed for battle, and for sometime 
 gallantly maintained themselves ; but which, at length, and after 
 stubborn resistance, they were forced to yield. 
 
 112. The enemy, discovering the firm and obstinate advance 
 made by the right wing of the American army, and presuming 1 
 perhaps that its principal strength was posted on the road, 
 formed the intention of attacking violently the left. Obliquing, 
 for this purpose, an attempt was made to turn it. At this 
 moment, Daquin's and the battalion of city guards being marched 
 up, and formed on the left of the forty-fourth regiment, met- 
 and repulsed them. 
 
 113. The particular moment of the contest prevented many 
 of those benefits which might have been derived from the artil 
 lery. The darkness of the night was such, that the blaze of the 
 enemy's musketry was the only light afforded by which to deter 
 mine their position, or be capable of taking our own to advan 
 tage ; yet, notwithstanding, it greatly annoyed them, whenever 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 75 v 
 
 it could be brought to bear. Directed by Lieutenant Spotts, a 
 vigilant and skilful officer, with men to aid him who looked to 
 nothing but a zealous discharge of their duty, the most essential 
 and important services were rendered. 
 
 114. The enemy had been thrice assailed and beaten, and 
 for nearly a mile compelled to yield their ground. They had 
 now retired, and, if found, were to be sought for amidst the 
 darkness of the night. The general determined to halt, and 
 ascertain Coffee's position and success, previously to waging the 
 battle further ; for as yet no communication had passed between 
 them. He entertained no doubt, from the brisk firing in that 
 direction, but that he had been warmly engaged; but this had 
 now nearly subsided ; the Caroline, too, had almost ceased her 
 operations; it being only occasionally that the noise of her 
 guns disclosed the little opportunity she possessed of acting 
 efficiently. 
 
 115. The express dispatched to General Jackson from the 
 left wing having reached him, he determined to prosecute the 
 successes he had gained no further. The darkness of the night, 
 the confusion into which his own division had been thrown, 
 and a similar disaster produced on the part of Coffee, all pointed 
 to the necessity of retiring from the field, and abandoning the 
 contest. The bravery and firmness already displayed by his 
 troops, had induced with him a belief that by pressing forward 
 he might capture the whole British army : at any rate, he con 
 sidered it but a game of venture and hazard, which, if unsuc 
 cessful, could not occasion his own defeat. If incompetent to 
 its execution, and superior numbers, or superior discipline, 
 should compel him to recede from the effort, he well knew the 
 enemy would not have temerity enough to attempt pursuit. 
 The extreme darkness, their entire ignorance of the situation 
 of the country, and an apprehension lest their forces might 
 be greatly outnumbered, afforded sufficient reasons on which 
 to ground a belief, that although beaten from his purpose, he 
 would yet have it in his power to retire in safety : but on the 
 arrival of the express from General Coffee, learning the strong 
 position to which the enemy had retired, and that a part of the 
 left wing had been detached, and were in all probability cap 
 tured, he determined to retire from the contest, nor attempt a' 
 further prosecution of his successes. General Coffee was ac 
 cordingly directed to withdraw, and take a position at Larond's 
 plantation, where the line had been first formed: and thither 
 the troops on the right were also ordered to be marched. 
 
 116. The last charge made by the left wing had separated' 
 
76 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 from the main body Colonels Dyer and Gibson, with two hun 
 dred men. and Captain Deal's company of riflemen. What might 
 be their fate, whether they were captured or had effected their 
 retreat, was, at this time, altogether uncertain ; be that as it 
 might, Coffee's command was thereby considerably weakened. 
 
 117. Colonel Dyer, who commanded the extreme left, on 
 clearing- the grove, after the enemy had retired, was marching: 
 in a direction where he expected to find General Coffee ; he 
 very soon discovered a force in front, and halting: his men, 
 hastened towards it ; arriving- within a short distance, he was 
 hailed, ordered to stop, and report to whom he belonged : Dyer, 
 and Gibson, his lieutenant-colonel, who had accompanied him, 
 advanced and stated they were of Coffee's brig-ade ; by this time 
 they had arrived within a short distance of the line, and per 
 ceiving that the name of the brigade they had stated was not 
 understood, their apprehensions were awakened, lest it might 
 be a detachment of the enemy ; in this opinion they were im 
 mediately confirmed, and wheeling to return, were fired on and 
 pursued. Gibson had scarcely started when he fell ; before he 
 could recover, a soldier quicker than the rest had reached him, 
 and pinned him to the ground with his bayonet ; fortunately 
 the stab had but slightly wounded him, and he was only held 
 by his clothes : thus pinioned, and perceiving others to be 
 briskly advancing, but a moment was left for deliberation ; 
 making a violent exertion, and springing to his feet, he threw 
 his assailant to the ground, and made good his retreat. Colonel 
 Dyer had retreated about fifty yards, when his horse dropped 
 dead ; entangled in the fall, and slightly wounded in the thigh, 
 there was little prospect of relief, for the enemy were briskly 
 advancing : his men being near at hand, he ordered them to 
 advance and fire, which checked their approach, and enabled 
 him to escape. Being now at the head of his command, per 
 ceiving an enemy in a direction he had not expected, and un 
 certain how or where he might find General Coffee, he deter 
 mined to seek him to the right, and moving on with his little 
 band, forced his way through the enemy's lines, with the loss 
 of sixty-three of his men, who were killed and taken. Captain 
 Beal, with equal bravery, charged through the enemy, carrying- 
 off some prisoners, and losing several of his own company. 
 
 118. This reinforcement of the British had arrived from 
 Bayou Bienvenu after night. The boats that landed the first 
 detachment had proceeded back to the shipping, and having 
 returned were on their way up the Bayou, when they heard 
 the guns of the Caroline ; moving hastily on to the assistance 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. . 77 
 
 of those who had debarked before them, they reached the shore, 
 and knowing 1 nothing* of the situation of the two armies, during 
 the engagement advanced in the rear of General Coffee's brigade. 
 Coining 1 in contact with Colonel Dyer and Captain Beal, they 
 filed off to the left, and reached the British lines. 
 
 119. This detached part of Coffee's brigade, unable to 
 unite with or find him, retired to the place where they had 
 first formed, and joined Colonel Hinds' dragoons, which had 
 remained on the ground where the troops had first dis 
 mounted, that they might cover their retreat if it became ne 
 cessary. 
 
 120. Jackson had gone into this battle confident of success ; 
 and his arrangements were such as would have ensured it, even 
 to a much greater extent, but for the intervention of circum 
 stances that were not and could not be foreseen. The Caroline 
 had given her signals, and commenced the battle, a little too 
 early, before Coftee had reached and taken his position, and 
 before every thing was fully in readiness, to attain the objects 
 designed : but it was chiefly owing to the confusion introduced 
 at first into the ranks, which checked the rapidity of his advance 
 gave the enemy time for preparation, and prevented his 
 division from uniting with the right wing of General Coffee's 
 brigade. 
 
 121. Colonel Hinds, with one hundred and eighty dragoons, 
 was not brought into action during the night. Interspersed as 
 the plain was with innumerable ditches diverging in different 
 directions, it was impossible that cavalry could act to any kind 
 of advantage : they were now formed in advance, to watch, until 
 morning, the movements of the enemy. 
 
 122. From the experiments just made, Jackson believed it 
 would be in his power, on renewing the attack, to capture the 
 British army : he concluded, therefore, to order down to his 
 assistance General Carroll with his division, and to assail them 
 again at the dawn of day. Directing Governor Claiborne to re 
 main x at his post, with the Louisiana militia, for the defence of 
 an important pass to the city, the Gentilly road, he dispatched 
 an express to Carroll, stating to him, that, if there had been 
 no appearance of a force during the night, in the direction 
 of Chef Menteur, to hasten and join him with the troops 
 under his command : this order was executed by one o'clock in 
 the morning. Previously, however, to his arrival, a different 
 determination was made. From prisoners who had been brought. 
 in, and through deserters, it was ascertained that the strength of 
 the enemy during the battle was four thousand, and, with the 
 
78 LIFE OF JACKSON. 
 
 reinforcements which had reached them after its commence 
 ment, and during the action, their force could not be less than 
 six : at any rate, it would greatly exceed his own, even after 
 the Tennessee division should be added. Although very decided 
 advantages had been obtained, yet they had been procured under 
 circumstances that might be wholly lost in a contest waged in 
 open day, between forces so disproportionate, and by undisci 
 plined troops, against veteran soldiers. Jackson well knew it 
 was incumbent upon him to act a part entirely defensive*: should 
 the attempt to gain and destroy the city succeed, numerous dif 
 ficulties would present themselves, which might be avoided, so 
 long as he could hold the enemy in check, and halt him in his 
 designs. Prompted by these considerations that it was im 
 portant to pursue a course calculated to assure safety ; and 
 believing it attainable in no way so effectually as in occupying 
 some point, and by the strength he might give it compensate 
 for the inferiority of his numbers and their want of discipline, 
 he determined to forbear all further offensive efforts until he 
 could more certainly discover the views of the enemy, and until 
 the Kentucky troops, which had not yet arrived, should reach 
 him. Pursuing this idea, at four o'clock in the morning, 
 having ordered Colonel Hinds to occupy the ground he was then 
 abandoning, and to observe the enemy closely, he fell back, 
 and formed his line behind a deep ditch, that stretched to the 
 swamp at right angles from the river. There were two circum 
 stances strongly recommending the importance of this place : 
 the swamp, which from the high lands at Baton Rouge skills 
 the river at irregular distances, and in many places is almost 
 impervious, had here approached within four hundred yards of 
 the Mississippi, and hence, from the narrowness of the pass, was 
 more easily to be defended ; added to which, there was a deep 
 canal, whence the dirt being thrown on the upper side, already 
 formed a tolerable work of defence. Behind this, his troops 
 were formed, and proper measures adopted for increasing its 
 strength, with a determination never to abandon it ; but there 
 to resist to the last, and valiantly to defend those rights which 
 were sought to be outraged and destroyed. 
 
 123. Promptitude and decision, and activity in execution, 
 constituted the leading traits of Jackson's character. No sooner 
 had he resolved on the course which he thought necessary to be 
 pursued, than with every possible dispatch he hastened to its 
 completion. Before him was an army proud of its name, and 
 distinguished for its deeds of valour. Opposed to which was his 
 own unbending spirit, and an inferior, undisciplined and unarmed 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 79 
 
 force. He conceived, therefore, that his was a defensive policy, 
 that by prudence and caution he would be able to preserve what 
 offensive operation might have a tendency to endanger. Hence, 
 with activity and industry, based on a hope of ultimate success, 
 he commenced his plan of defence, determining to fortify him 
 self effectually, as the peril and pressure of the moment would 
 permit. When to expect attack he could not tell ; preparation 
 and readiness to meet it was for him to determine on, all els3 
 was for the enemy. Promptly, therefore, he proceeded with 
 his system of defence ; and with such thoughtfulness and 
 anxiety, that until the night of the 27th, when his line was 
 completed, he never slept, or for a moment closed his eyes. 
 Resting his hope of safety here, he was everywhere, through the 
 night, present, encouraging his troops, and hastening a com 
 pletion of the work. The concern and excitement produced by 
 the mighty object before him were such as overcame the demand 
 of nature, and for five days and four nights he was without 
 sleep and constantly employed. His line of defence being com 
 pleted on the night of the 27th, he, for the first time since the 
 arrival of the enemy, retired to rest and repose. 
 
 124. The soldier -who has stood the shock of battle, and 
 knows what slight circumstances oftentimes produce decided ad 
 vantages, will be able properly to appreciate the events of this 
 night. Although the dreadful carnage of the 8th of January, 
 hereafter to be told, was in fact the finishing blow, that struck 
 down the towering hopes of those invaders, and put an end to the 
 contest, yet in the battle of the 23rd is there to be found abundant 
 cause why success resulted to our arms, and safety was given 
 to the country. The British had reached the Mississippi without 
 the fire of a gun, and encamped upon its banks as composedly 
 as if they had been seated on their own soil, and at a distance 
 from all .danger. These were circumstances which awakened a 
 belief that they expected little opposition, were certain of suc 
 cess, and that the troops with whom they were to contend 
 would scarcely venture to resist them : resting thus confidently 
 in the expectation of success, they would the next day have 
 moved forward, and succeeded in the accomplishment of their 
 designs. Jackson, convinced that an early impression was 
 essential to ultimate success, had resolved to assail them at the 
 moment of their landing, and " attack them in their first posi 
 tion:" we have, therefore, seen him, with a force inferior by 
 one half to that of the enemy, at an unexpected moment break 
 into their camp, and with his undisciplined yeomanry drive be 
 fore him the pride of England, and the conquerors of Europe. 
 
SO LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 It was an event that could not fail to destroy all previous 
 theories, arid establish a conclusion which our enemy had not 
 before formed, that they were contending- against valour inferior 
 to none they had seen ; before which their own bravery had 
 not stood, nor their skill availed them ; it had the effect of satis 
 fying them, that the quantity and kind of troops it was in our 
 power here to wield, must be different from any thing- that had 
 been represented to them; for much as they had heard of the 
 courage of the man with whom they were contending, they 
 could not suppose, that a general having a country to defend, 
 and a reputation to preserve, would venture to attack on their 
 own chosen ground a greatly superior army, and one which, 
 by the numerous victories it had achieved, had already acquired 
 a fame in arms ; they were convinced that his force must greatly 
 surpass \vhat they had expected, and be composed of materials 
 different from what they had imagined. 
 
 125. The American troops, which were actually engaged, did 
 not amount to two thousand men : they consisted of part of 
 Coffee's brigade and Captain Beal's company, - 648 
 The 7th and 44th regiments, - - -763 
 Company of marines and artillery, 82 
 Plauche's and Daquin's battalions, - - 48S 
 And the Mississippi dragoons under Colonal Hinds, not ) , fi / 
 
 in the action, J 
 
 2167; 
 
 which for a more than an hour maintained a severe conflict 
 with a force of four or five thousand, and retired in safety from 
 the ground, with the loss of but twenty-four killed, and one 
 hundred and fifteen wounded, and seventy-four made prisoners ; 
 while the killed, wounded, and prisoners of the enemy, were not 
 Jess than four hundred. 
 
 126. Our officers and soldiers executed every order with 
 promptitude, and nobly sustained their country's character. 
 Lieutenant-colonel Lauderdale, of Coffee's brigade, an officer of 
 great promise, and on whom every reliance was placed, fell at 
 his post, and at his duty : he had entered the service, and 
 descended the river with the volunteers under General Jackson, 
 in the winter of 1812 passed through all the hardships arid 
 difficulties of the Creek war, and had ever manifested a readiness 
 to act when his country needed his services. Young, brave, and 
 skilful, he had already afforded evidences of a capacity, which 
 might, in future, have become useful ; his exemplary conduct, 
 both in civil and military life, had acquired for him a respeet 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 81 
 
 that rendered his fall a subject of general regret. Lieutenant 
 M'Lelland, a valuable young- officer of the 7th, was also among 
 the number of the slain. 
 
 127. Coffee's brigade, during the action, imitating the ex 
 ample of their commander, bravely contended, and ably sup 
 ported the character they had previously established. The 
 unequal contest in which they were eng'aged never occurred 
 to them ; nor, for a moment, checked the rapidity of their 
 advance. Had the British known they were merely riflemen, 
 and without bayonets, a firm stand would have arrested their 
 progress, and destruction or capture would have been the inevi 
 table consequence; but this circumstance being unknown, 
 every charge they made was crowned with success, producing 
 discomfiture, and routing and driving superior numbers before 
 them. Officers, from the highest to inferior grades, discharg-ed 
 what had been expected of them. Ensign Leach, of the 7th 
 regiment, being wounded through the body, still remained at 
 his post, and in the performance of his duty. Colonel Reuben 
 Kemper, enterprising and self-collected, amidst the confusion 
 introduced on the left wing, found himself at the head of a 
 handful of men, detached from the main body, and in the midst 
 of a party of the enemy : never did any man better exemplify 
 the truth of the position, that discretion is sometimes the better 
 part of valour : to attempt resistance was idle, and could only 
 eventuate in destruction : with a mind unclouded by the peril 
 that surrounded him, he sought and procured his safety through 
 stratagem. Calling to a group of soldiers who were near, in a 
 positive tone, he demanded of them where their regiment was: 
 lost themselves, they were unable to answer : but supposing' him 
 one of their own officers, they assented to his orders, and fol 
 lowed him to his own line, where they were made prisoners. 
 
 128. The 7th regiment, commanded by Major Piere, and 
 the 44th, under Major Baker, aided by Major Butler, gallantly 
 maintained the conflict forced the enemy from every secure 
 position he attempted to occupy, and drove him a mile from the 
 first point of attack. Confiding in themselves, and their general, 
 who was constantly with them, exposed to danger and in the 
 midst of the fight, inspiring by his ardour, and encouraging by 
 his example, they advanced to the conflict, nor evinced a dis 
 position to leave it until the prudence of their commander 
 directed them to retire. 
 
 129. From the violence of the assault already made, the fears 
 of the British had been greatly excited ; to keep their appre 
 hensions alive was considered important, with a view partially 
 
82 LIFE OP JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 to destroy the overweening- confidence with which they had 
 arrived on our shores, and to compel them to act for a time 
 upon the defensive. To effect this, General Coffee, with his 
 brigade, was ordered down on the morning of the 24th, to unite 
 with Colonel Hinds, and make a show in the rear of Lacoste's 
 plantation. The enemy, not yet recovered of the panic pro 
 duced by the assault of the preceding- evening, already believed 
 it was in contemplation to urge another attack, and immediately 
 formed themselves to repel it ; but Coffee having succeeded in 
 recovering some of his horses, which were wandering along the 
 margin of the swamp, and in regaining part of the clothing 
 which his troops had lost the night before, returned to the line, 
 leaving them to conjecture the objects of his movement. 
 
 130. The scanty supply of clothes and blankets that remained 
 to the soldiers, from their long and exposed marches, had been 
 left where they dismounted to meet the enemy,. Their numbers 
 were too limited, and the strength of their opponents too well 
 ascertained, for any part of their force to remain and take care 
 of what was left behind : it was so essential to hasten on, reach 
 their destination, and be ready to act when the signal from the 
 Caroline should announce their co-operation necessary, that no 
 time was afforded them to secure their horses ; they were 
 turned loose, and their recovery trusted entirely to chance. 
 Although many were regained, many were lost ; while most of 
 the men remained but with a single suit, to encounter, in the 
 open field, and in swamps covered with water, the hardships of 
 camp, and the severity of winter. It is a circumstance which 
 entitles them to much credit, that under privations so severely 
 oppressive, complaints or murmurs were never heard. This 
 state of things fortunately was not of long continuance. The 
 story of their sufferings and misfortunes \vas no sooner known, 
 than the legislature appropriated a sum of money for their re 
 lief, which was greatly increased by subscriptions in the city 
 and neighbourhood. Materials being purchased, the ladies, 
 with that Christian charity and warmth of heart characteristic 
 of their sex, at once exerted themselves in removing their dis 
 tresses : all their industry was called into action, and in a little 
 time the suffering soldier was relieved. Such generous con 
 duct, in extending assistance at a moment when it w r as so much 
 needed, while it conferred on those females the highest honour, 
 could not fail to nerve the arm of the brave with new zeal for 
 the defence of their benefactresses. This distinguished mark 
 of their patriotism and benevolence is still remembered ; and 
 often as these valiant men are heard to recount the dangers they 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. S3 
 
 have passed, and with peculiar pride to dwell on the mingled 
 honours and hardships of the campaign, they breathe a senti 
 ment of gratitude to those who conferred upon them such 
 distinguished marks of their kindness, and who, by timely 
 interference, alleviated their misfortunes and their sufferings. 
 
 131. To present a check, and keep up a show of resistance, 
 detachments of light troops were occasionally kept in front of 
 the line, assailing and harassing the enemy's advanced posts 
 whenever an opportunity was offered of acting to advantage. 
 Every moment that could be gained, and every delay that could 
 be extended to the enemy's attempts to reach the city, was of 
 the utmost importance. The works were rapidly progressing, 
 and hourly increasing in strength. The militia of the state 
 were every day arriving, and every day the prospect of successful 
 opposition was brightening. 
 
 132. The enemy still remained at his first encampment. To 
 be in readiness to repel an assault when attempted, the most 
 active exertions were made on the 24th and 25th. The canal 
 covering' the front of our line was deepened and widened, and 
 a strong mud wall formed of the earth that had been originally 
 thrown out. To prevent any approach until his system of 
 defence should be in a state of greater forwardness, Jackson 
 ordered the levee to be cut, about a hundred yards below the 
 point he had occupied. The river being very high, a broad 
 stream of water passed rapidly through the plain, of the depth of 
 thirty or forty inches, which prevented any approach of troops 
 on foot. Embrasures were formed, and two pieces of artillery, 
 under the command of Lieutenant Spotts, early on the morning 
 of the 24th, were placed in a position to rake the road leaftng up 
 the levee. 
 
 133. He was under the constant apprehensions lest, in spite 
 of his exertions below, the city might, through some ofter 
 route, be reached and destroyed ; and those fears were increased 
 to-day, by a report that a strong force had arrived debarked 
 at the head of lake Borgne, and compelled an abandonment of 
 the defence at Chef Menteur. This, however, proved to be un 
 founded : the enemy had not appeared in that direction, nor 
 had the officer, to whom was entrusted the command of this 
 fort, so much relied on, forgotten his duty or forsaken his post. 
 Acting upon the statement that Major Lacoste had retired from 
 the fort, and fallen back on bayou St. John, and incensed that 
 orders, which from their importance should have been faith 
 fully executed, had been thus lightly regarded, he hastened to 
 inform him what he had understood, and to forbid his leaving 
 
4 LIFE or JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 his position. " The battery I have placed under your com 
 mand must be defended at all hazards. In you, and the valour 
 of your troops, I repose every confidence ; let me not be de 
 ceived. With us every thing goes on well ; the enemy has not 
 yet advanced. Our troops have covered themselves with glory : 
 it is a noble example, and worthy to be followed by all. Main 
 tain your post, nor ever think of retreating." To give addi 
 tional strength to a place deemed so important, inspire confi 
 dence, and ensure safety, Colonel Dyer, and two hundred men, 
 were ordered here to assist in its defence, and act as videttes, 
 in advance of the occupied points. 
 
 134. General Morgan, who at the English turn commanded 
 the fort on the east bank of the river, was instructed to proceed 
 as near the enemy's camp as prudence and safety would permit, 
 and, by destroying the levee, to let in the waters of the Missis 
 sippi between them. The execution of this order, and a similar 
 one previously made below the line of defence, had entirely 
 insulated the enemy, and prevented his march against either 
 place. On the 26th, however, the commanding general fearing 
 for the situation of Morgan, who, from the British occupying 
 the intermediate ground, was entirely detached from his camp, 
 directed him to abandon his encampment, carry off such of the 
 cannon as might be wanted, and throw the remainder into the 
 river, where they could be again recovered when the waters re 
 ceded ; to retire to the other side of the river, and assume a 
 position on the right bank, nearly opposite to his line, and have 
 it fortified. This movement was imposed by the relative dis 
 position of the two armies. Necessity, not choice, made it 
 essential that St. Leon should be abandoned. 
 
 135. From every intelligence, obtained through deserters 
 and prisoners, it was evident that the British fleet would make 
 an effort to ascend the river, and co-operate with the troops 
 already landed. Lest this, or a diversion in a different quarter, 
 might be attempted, exertions were made to be able to resist at 
 all points, and to interpose such defences on the Mississippi as 
 might assure protection. The forts on the river, well supported 
 with brave men, and heavy pieces of artillery, might, perhaps, 
 liave the effect to deter their shipping from venturing in that 
 direction, and dispose them to seek some safer route, if any 
 <:ould be discovered. Pass Barrataria was best calculated for 
 this purpose, and here, in all probability, it was expected the 
 effort might be made. The difficulty of ascending the Missis 
 sippi, from the rapidity of the current, its winding course, and 
 the ample protection already given at forts St. Philip and Bour- 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 85 
 
 bon. were circumstances to which it was not to be inferred the 
 British were strangers : nor was it to be expected, that, with a 
 knowledge of them, they would venture here the success of an 
 enterprise on which so much depended. It was a more rational 
 conjecture that they would seek a passage through Barrataria 
 proceed up on the right bank of the river, and gain a position 
 whence, co-operating with the forces on the east side, they 
 might drive our troops from the line they had formed, and, at 
 less hazard, succeed in the accomplishment of their designs. 
 Major Reynolds was accordingly ordered thither, with instruc 
 tions to place the bayous, emptying through this pass, in the 
 best possible state of defence to occupy and strengthen the 
 island to mount sufficient ordnance, and draw a chain, within 
 cannon-shot, across, the more effectually to guard the route, 
 and protect it from approach. Lafite, who had been heretofore 
 promised pardon for the outrages he had committed against the 
 laws of the United States, and who had already shown a lively 
 zeal on behalf of his adopted country, was also dispatched with 
 Reynolds. He was selected, because, from the proofs already 
 given, no doubt was entertained of his fidelity, and because his 
 knowledge of the topography and precise situation of this section 
 of the state was remarkably correct : it was the point where he 
 had constantly rendezvoused, during the time of cruising against 
 the merchant vessels of Spain, under a commission obtained at 
 Carthagena, and where he had become perfectly acquainted with 
 every inlet and entrance to the gulf through which a passage 
 could be effected. 
 
 136. With these arrangements treason apart all anxiously 
 alive to the interest of the country, and disposed to protect it, 
 there was little room to apprehend or fear disaster. To use the 
 general's own expression on another occasion, " the surest 
 defence, and one which seldom failed of success, was a rampart 
 of high-minded and brave men." That there were some of this 
 description with him, on whom he could safely rely in moments 
 of extreme peril, he well knew ; but that there were many 
 strangers to him and danger, and who had never been called to 
 act in those situations where death, stalking in hideous round, 
 appals and unnerves even the most resolute, was equally certain ; 
 whether they would contend with manly firmness, support the 
 cause in which they had embarked, and realize his anxious 
 wishes on the subject, could be only known in the moment of 
 conflict and trial ; when, if disappointed in his expectations, the 
 means of retrieving- the evil would be fled, and every thing lost 
 in the result, 
 
86 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 1-37. As yet the enemy were uninformed of the position of 
 Jackson. What was his situation what was intended whether 
 offensive or defensive operations would be pursued, were cir 
 cumstances on which they possessed no correct knowledge, nor 
 could it be obtained ; still their exertions were unremitting to 
 have all things prepared, and in readiness to urge their designs 
 whenever the moment for action should arrive. They had been 
 constantly engaged, since their landing', in procuring from their 
 shipping every thing necessary to ulterior operation. A com 
 plete command on the lakes, and possession of a point on the 
 margin, presented an uninterrupted ingress and egress, and 
 afforded the opportunity of conveying whatever was wanted in 
 perfect safety to their camp. The height of the Mississippi, 
 and the discharge of water through the openings made in the 
 levee, had given an increased depth to the canal, from which 
 they had first debarked enabled them to advance their boats 
 much further in the direction of their encampment, and to bring 
 up, with greater convenience, their artillery, bombs, and muni 
 tions. Thus engaged, during the first three days after their 
 arrival, early on the morning of the 27th a battery was dis 
 covered on the bank of the river, which had been erected during 
 the preceding night, and on which were mounted several pieces 
 of heavy ordnance ; from this position a fire was opened on the 
 Caroline schooner, lying under the opposite shore. 
 
 138. After the battle of the 23rd, in which this vessel had so 
 effectually aided, she had passed to the opposite side of the 
 river, where she had since lain. Her services were too highly 
 appreciated not to be again desired, should the enemy en 
 deavour to advance. Her present situation was considered 
 truly an unsafe one, but it had been essayed in vain to advance 
 her higher up the stream. No favourable breeze had yet arisen 
 to aid her in stemming the current ; and towing, and other 
 remedies, had been already resorted to, but without success. 
 Her safety might have been ensured by floating her down the 
 river and placing her under cover of the guns of the fort, though 
 it was preferred, as a matter of policy, to risk her where she was, 
 still hourly calculating that a favourable wind might relieve 
 her, rather than by dropping her with the current, lose those 
 benefits which, against an advance of the enemy, it might be in 
 her power so completely to extend. Commodore Patterson had 
 left her on the 26th, by the orders of the commanding general, 
 when Captain Henly made a further but ineffectual effort to 
 force her up the current, near to the'line, for the double purpose 
 of its defence and for her own safety. 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 87 
 
 139. These attempts to remove her being 1 discovered, at Say- 
 light, on the morning of the 27th, a battery, mounting 1 five guns, 
 opened upon her, discharging 1 bombs and red-hot shot ; it was 
 spiritedly answered, but without affecting the battery ; there 
 being but a long twelve-pounder that could reach. The second 
 fire had lodged a hot shot in the hold, directly under her cables, 
 whence it could not be removed, and where it immediately com 
 municated fire to the schooner. The shot from the battery were 
 constantly taking effect, firing her in different places, and other 
 wise producing material injury ; while the blaze already kindled 
 under her cables was rapidly extending its ravages. A well- 
 grounded apprehension of her commander, that she could be no 
 longer defended the flames bursting forth in different parts, 
 and fast increasing, induced a fear lest the magazine should be 
 soon reached, and every thing destroyed. One of his crew being 
 killed, and six wounded, and not a glimmering of hope entertained 
 that she could be preserved, orders were given to abandon her. 
 The crew in safety reached the shore, and in a. short time after 
 wards she blew up. 
 
 140. Although thus unexpectedly deprived of so material a 
 dependence for successful defence, an opportunity was soon pre 
 sented of using her brave crew to advantage. Gathering confi 
 dence from what had been just effected, the enemy left their 
 encampment, and moved in the direction of our line. Their 
 numbers had been increased, and Major- General Sir Edward 
 Packenham now commanded in person. Early on the 2Sth, his 
 columns commenced their advance to storm our works. At the 
 distance of half a mile, their heavy artillery opened, and quanti 
 ties of bombs, balls, and congreve rockets, were discharged. It 
 was a scene of terror and alarm, which they had probably calcu 
 lated would excite a panic in the minds of the raw troops of our 
 army, and compel them to surrender at discretion, or abandon 
 their strong hold. But our soldiers had afforded abundant proof, 
 that, whether disciplined or not, they well knew how to defend 
 the honour and interests of their country ; and had sufficient 
 valour not to be alarmed at the reality still less the semblance 
 of danger. Far from exciting their apprehensions, and driving 
 them from their ground, their firmness still remained unchanged ; 
 still was manifested a determination not to tarnish a reputation 
 they had hardly earned ; and which had become too dear, from 
 the difficulties and dangers they had passed to acquire it, for it 
 now tamely to be surrendered. Their congreve rockets, though 
 a kind of instrument of destruction to which our troops, unskilled 
 in the science of desolating warfare, had been hitherto strangers, 
 
88 LIFE OP JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 excited no other feeling than that which novelty inspires. At 
 the moment, therefore, that the British, in different columns, 
 were moving* up, in all the pomp and parade of battle, preceded 
 by these insignia of terror more than danger, and were expect 
 ing to behold their " Yankee foes" tremblingly retire and flee 
 before them, our batteries opened, and halted their advance. 
 
 141. In addition to the two pieces of cannon mounted on our 
 works on the 24th, three others, of heavy caliber, obtained from 
 the navy department, had been formed along the line; these 
 opening on the enemy, checked their progress, and disclosed to 
 them the hazard of the project they were on. Lieutenants 
 Crawley and Norris volunteered, and with the crew of the Caro 
 line rendered important services, and maintained at the guns 
 they commanded that firmness and decision for which on pre 
 vious occasions they had been so highly distinguished. They 
 had been selected by the general because of their superior 
 knowledge in gunnery ; and on this occasion gave a further 
 evidence of their skill and judgment, and of a disposition to act 
 in any situation where they could be serviceable. The line, 
 which from the labours bestowed on it was daily strengthening 
 was not yet in a situation effectually to resist ; this deficiency, 
 however, was well remedied by the brave men who were formed 
 in its rear. 
 
 142. From the river the greatest injury was effected. Lieu 
 tenant Thompson, who commanded the Louisiana sloop, which 
 lay nearly opposite the line of defence, no sooner discovered the 
 columns approaching, than warping her around, he brought her 
 starboard guns to bear, and produced such an effect as forced 
 them to retreat: but, from their heavy artillery, the enemy 
 maintained the conflict with great spirit, constantly discharging 
 their bombs and rockets for seven hours, when, unable to make 
 a breach, or silence the fire from the sloop, they abandoned a 
 contest where few advantages seemed to be presented. The 
 crew of this vessel was composed of new recruits, and of dis 
 cordant materials, of soldiers, citizens, and seamen ; yet, by the 
 activity of their commander, they were so well perfected in their 
 duty, that they already managed their guns with the greatest 
 precision and certainty of effect ; and, by three o'clock in the 
 evening, with the aid of the land batteries, had completely 
 silenced and driven back the enemy. Emboldened by the effect 
 produced the day before on the Caroline, the furnaces of the 
 enemy were put in operation, and numbers of hot shot thrown 
 from a heavy piece which was placed behind and protected by 
 the levee. An attempt was now made to carrv it off, when that 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 89 
 
 protection heretofore had being- taken away, those in the direc 
 tion of it were fairly exposed to our fire, and suffered greatly. 
 In their endeavours to remove it, " I saw," says Commodore 
 Patterson, " distinctly, with the aid of a glass, several balls 
 strike in the midst of the men who were employed in dragging- 
 it away." In this engagement, commenced and waged for 
 seven hours, we received little or no injury. The Louisiana 
 sloop, against which the most violent exertions were made, had 
 but a single man wounded, by the fragments of a shell which 
 bursted over her deck. Our entire loss did not exceed nine 
 killed, and eight or ten wounded. The enemy, being more ex 
 posed, acting in the open field, and in range of our guns, suffered, 
 from information afterwards procured, considerable injury; at 
 least one hundred and twenty were killed and wounded. 
 
 143. Among the killed, on our side, was Colonel James Hen 
 derson, of the Tennessee militia. An advance party of the Bri 
 tish had, during the action, taken post behind a fence that ran 
 obliquely to, and not very remote from, our iine. Henderson, 
 with a detachment of two hundred men, was sent out by General 
 Carroll to drive them from a position whence they were effecting 
 some injury, and greatly annoying our troops. Had he ad 
 vanced in the manner directed, he would have been less exposed, 
 and enabled more effectually to have secured the object intended ; 
 but, misunderstanding the order, he proceeded in a different 
 route, and fell a victim to his error. Instead of marching in the 
 direction of the wood, and turning the enemy, which might have 
 cut off their retreat, he proceeded in front, towards the river, 
 leaving them in rear of the fence, and himself and his detach 
 ment open and exposed. His mistake being perceived from the 
 line, he was called by the adjutant-general, and directed to re 
 turn ; but the noise of the waters, through which they were 
 wading, prevented any communication. Having reached a knoll 
 of dry ground, he formed, and attempted the execution of his 
 order; but soon fell, by a wound in the head. Deprived of their 
 commander, and perceiving their situation hazardous and un 
 tenable, the detachment retreated to the line, with the loss of 
 their colonel and five men. 
 
 144. While this advance was made, a column of the enemy 
 was threatening an attack on our extreme left ; to frustrate the 
 attempt, Coffee was ordered with his riflemen to hasten through 
 the woods, and check their approach. The enemy, although 
 greatly superior to him in numbers, no sooner discovered his 
 movement than they retired, and abandoned the attack they had 
 previously meditated. 
 
90 LIFE OF JACKSOX. [Chap. 
 
 145. A supposed disaffection in New Orleans, and an enemy 
 in front, were circumstances well calculated to excite unplea 
 sant forebodings. General Jackson believed it necessary and 
 essential to his, security, while contending with avowed foes, not 
 to be wholly inattentive to dangers lurking at home ; but, by 
 guarding vigilantly, to be able to suppress any treasonable pur 
 pose, the moment it should be developed, and before it should 
 have time to mature. Previously, therefore, to departing from 
 the city, on the evening of the 23rd, he had ordered Major 
 Butler, his aid, to remain with the guards, and be vigilant that 
 nothing transpired in his absence calculated to operate injuri 
 ously. His fears that there were many of the inhabitants who 
 felt no attachment to the government, and would not scruple to 
 surrender, whenever, prompted by their interest, it should be 
 come necessary, has been already noticed. In this belief, sub 
 sequent circumstances evinced there was no mistake, and showed 
 that to his assiduity and energy is to be ascribed that the country 
 was protected and saved. It is a fact, which was disclosed 
 on making an exchange of prisoners, that, despite of all the 
 efforts made to prevent it, the enemy w r ere daily and constantly 
 apprized of every thing that transpired in our camp, Every 
 arrangement, and every change of position, was immediately 
 communicated. On the day subsequent to a contest on the 
 lakes, on the 14th December, Mr. Shields, purser in the navy, 
 had been dispatched with a nag, to Cat island, accompanied by 
 Dr. Murrell, for the purpose of alleviating the situation of our 
 wounded, and to effect a negotiation, by which they should be 
 liberated on parole. We are not aware that such an applica 
 tion militated' against the usages and customs of war: if not, 
 the flag of truce should have been respected ; nor ought its 
 bearer to have been detained as a prisoner. Admiral Cochrane's 
 pretended fear that it was a wile, designed to ascertain his 
 strength and situation, is far from presenting any sufficient 
 excuse for so wanton an outrage on propriety and the rules of 
 war. If this were apprehended, could not tho messengers have 
 been met at a distance from the fleet, and ordered back with 
 out a near approach ? Had this been done, no information 
 could have been gained, and the object designed to be secured 
 by the detention would have been answered, without infringing 
 that amicable intercourse between contending armies, which, 
 when violated or disregarded, opens a door to brutal and savage 
 warfare. Finding they did not return, the cause of it was at 
 once correctly divined. 
 
 146. The British admiral was very solicitous, and resorted to 
 
V.J DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 91 
 
 various means to obtain from these gentlemen information of 
 the strength and condition and disposition of our army; but so 
 cautious a reserve was maintained, that from them nothing- could 
 be elicited. Shields was perceived to be quite deaf, and calcu 
 lating on some advantage to be derived from this circumstance, 
 he and the doctor were placed at night in the green room, 
 where any conversation which occurred between them could 
 readily be heard. Suspecting, perhaps, something of the kind, 
 after having retired, and every thing was seemingly still, they 
 began to speak of their situation the circumstance of their 
 being detained, and of the prudent caution with which they had 
 guarded themselves ag'ainst communicating any information to 
 the British admiral. But, continued Shields, how greatly these 
 gentlemen will be disappointed in their expectations, for Jack 
 son with the twenty thousand troops he now has, and the rein 
 forcements from Kentucky, which must speedily reach him, will 
 be able to destroy any force that can be landed from these ships. 
 Every word was heard, and treasured, and not supposing there 
 was any design, or that he presumed himself overheard, they 
 were beguiled by it, and at once concluded our force to be as 
 great as it was represented ; and hence no doubt arose the reason 
 of that prudent care and caution with which the enemy after 
 wards proceeded ; for "nothing," remarked a British officer, at 
 the close of the invasion, " was kept a secret from us, except 
 your numbers : this, although diligently sought after, could 
 never be procured." 
 
 147. Between the 23rd, and the attack on the 28th, to carry 
 our line, Major Butler, who still remained at his post in the 
 city, was applied to by Fulwar Skipwith, at that time speaker of 
 the senate, to ascertain the commanding general's views, pro 
 vided he should be driven from his line of encampment, and com 
 pelled to retreat through the city ; would he in that event de 
 stroy it ? It was, indeed, a curious inquiry from one who, 
 having spent his life in serving his country in different capa 
 cities, might better have understood the duty of a subordinate 
 officer ; and that even if, from his situation, Major Butler had 
 so far acquired the confidence of his general as to have become 
 acquainted with his views and designs, he was not at liberty to 
 divulge them, without destroying confidence and acting crimi 
 nally. On asking the cause of the inquiry, Mr. Skipwith re 
 plied, it was rumoured, and so understood, that if driven from 
 his position, and made to retreat upon the city, General Jackson 
 had it in contemplation to lay it in ruins ; the legislature, he 
 said, desired information on this subject, that if such were his 
 
92 LIFE OF JACKSON." [Chap. 
 
 intentions, they might, by offering 1 terms of capitulation to the 
 enemy, avert so serious a calamity. That a sentiment having 
 for its object a surrender of the city should be entertained by 
 this body was scarcely credible ; yet a few days brought the 
 certainty of it more fully to view, and showed that they were 
 already devising plans to ensure the safety of themselves and 
 property, even at any sacrifice. While the general was hastening 
 along the line, from ordering Coffee, as we have just observed, 
 against a column of the British on the extreme left, he was 
 hailed by Mr. Duncan, one of his volunteer aids, and informed, 
 that already it was agitated, secretly, by the members of the 
 legislature, to offer terms of capitulation to the enemy, and 
 proffer a surrender ; and that Governor Claiborne awaited his 
 orders on the subject. Poised as was the result, the safety or 
 fall of the city resting in uncertainty, although it was plainly to 
 be perceived, that, with a strong army before them, no such 
 resolution could be carried into effect, yet it might be produc 
 tive of evil, and in the end bring about the most fatal conse 
 quences. Even the disclosure of such a wish on the part of the 
 legislature might create parties excite opposition in the army, 
 and inspire the enemy with renewed confidence. The Ten 
 nessee forces, and Mississippi volunteers, it was not feared 
 would be affected by the measure ; but it might detach the 
 Louisiana militia, and even extend itself to the ranks of the 
 regular troops. Jackson was greatly incensed, that those whose 
 safety he had so much at heart, should be seeking, under the 
 authority of office, to mar his best exertions. He was, however, 
 too warmly pressed at the moment, for the battle was raging, 
 to give it the attention its importance merited ; but, availing 
 himself of the first respite from the violence of the attack waged 
 against him, he apprized Governor Claiborne of what he had 
 heard ; ordered him closely to watch the conduct of the legis 
 lature, and the moment a project of offering a capitulation to 
 the enemy should be fully disclosed, to place a guard at the 
 door and confine them to their chamber. The governor, in his 
 zeal to execute the command, and from a fear of the conse 
 quences involved in such conduct, construed as imperative an 
 order which was merely contingent ; and placing an armed force 
 at the door of the capitol, prevented the members from conven 
 ing, and their schemes from maturing. 
 
 148. 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. Jack 
 son's object was not to restrain the legislature in the discharge 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 93 
 
 of their official duties ; for although he thought, that such a 
 moment, when the sound of the cannon was constantly pealing 
 in their ears, was inauspicious to wholesome legislation, and 
 that it would have better comported with the state of the times 
 for them to abandon their civil duties and appear in the field, 
 yet was it a matter indelicate to be proposed : and it was hence 
 preferred, that they should adopt whatever course might be 
 suggested by their own notions of propriety. This sentiment 
 would have been still adhered to ; but when through the com 
 munication of Mr. Duncan they were represented as entertaining 
 opinions and schemes adverse to the general interest 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, so 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 in 
 terest than their own. I had intended to have had them well 
 treated and kindly dealt by; and thus abstracted from every 
 thing passing without doors, a better opportunity would have 
 been afforded them to enact good and wholesome laws ; but 
 Governor Claiborne mistook my order, and instead of shutting 
 them in doors, contrary to my wishes and expectation, turned 
 them out. 
 
 149. Before this lie 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 general, 
 I thought the hair of my head could divine what I should do forth 
 with, I would cut it off : go back with this answer ; say to your 
 honourable body, that if disaster does overtake me, and the fate 
 of war drives me from my line to the city, they may expect to 
 have a very warm session. And what did you design to do, I 
 inquired, provided you had been forced to retreat ? I should, he 
 replied, have retreated to the city, fired it, and fought the enemy 
 amidst the surrounding flames. There were with me men of 
 wealth, owners of considerable property, who, in such an event, 
 would have been amongst 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 
 
94 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 the enemy would have been left in the rear. I would have de 
 stroyed New Orleans occupied a position above on the river 
 cut off all supplies, and in this way compelled them to depart 
 from the country. 
 
 350. We shall not pretend to ascribe this conduct of the 
 legislature to disaffection, or to treasonable motives. The im 
 pulse 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 numbers, 
 preparation, and discipline, had excited apprehension and de 
 stroyed hope. If Jackson were driven back, and little else was 
 looked for, rumour fixed his determination of devoting the city 
 to destruction : but even if such were not his intention, the 
 wrath and vengeance of the enemy might be fairly calculated to 
 be in proportion to the opposition they should receive. Although 
 these considerations may somewhat palliate, they do not justify. 
 The government was represented in the person of the com 
 manding general, on whom rested all responsibility, 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 every nerve for the general safety. A 
 few of the members of their own body, too, were there, who did 
 not despond. Might not patriotism, then, have admonished 
 these men, honoured 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 endeavoured to introduce 
 fear, and paralyze exertion ? Such conduct, if productive of 
 nothing worse, was well calculated to excite alarm. If the mi 
 litia, 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 occasioned serious apprehensions ; but, in a much 
 greater degree would they be calculated to arise, when told that 
 the members of the legislature, chosen to preside over the safety 
 and destinies of the state, after due deliberation, had pro 
 nounced all attempts at successful opposition, sain and inef 
 fectual. 
 
 151. Here was 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 
 

 
 '.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 95 
 
 common highway, watch boats were constantly plying during 
 the night, in different directions, so that a log could scarcely 
 float down the stream unperceived. Two flat-bottomed boats, 
 on a dark night, were turned adrift above, to ascertain 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 were 
 [ sunk. In spite, however, of every precaution, treason still dis 
 covered avenues through which to project and execute her nefa 
 rious plans, and through them was constantly afforded informa 
 tion to the enemy ; carried to them, no doubt, by adventurous 
 I" friends, who sought and effected their nightly passage through 
 the deepest parts of the swamp, where it was impossible for sen- 
 jf-' tinels to be stationed.* 
 
 152. Great inconvenience was sustained for the want of arms, 
 Band much anxiety felt, lest the enemy, through their faithful 
 1 adherents, might, on this subject also obtain information ; to 
 g'prevent it as far as possible, General Jackson endeavoured to 
 ponceal the strength and situation of his army, by suffering his 
 ports to be seen by none but himself and the adjutant-general, 
 any of the troops in the field were supplied with common 
 ns, which were of little service. The Kentucky troops, daily 
 xpected, were also understood to be badly provided with arms, 
 ncertain but that the city might yet contain many articles that 
 uld be serviceable, orders were issued to the mayor of New 
 
 * Letter from Charles K. Blancjiard to General Jackson. 
 
 New Orleans, March 20, 18 14. 
 
 SIR I Lave the honour, agreeably to your request, to state to your 
 ellency, in writing, the substance of a conversation that occurred 
 -een Quarter-master Peddie, of the British army, and myself, on the 
 I tli instant," on board his Britannic Majesty's ship Herald. Quarter- 
 ster Peddie observed, that the commanding officers of the British 
 jes were daily in the receipt of every information from the city of New 
 leans, which they might require, in aid of their operations, for the 
 completion of the objects of the expedition; that they were perfectly 
 i in ted with the situation of every part of our forces, the manner in 
 which the same was situated, the number of our fortifications, their 
 trength, position, &c. As to the battery on the left bank ot the Missis- 
 ippi, lie described its situation, its distance from the main post, and 
 promptly offered me a plan of the works. He furthermore stated, that 
 ine above information was received from seven or eight persons, in the 
 city of New Orleans, from whom he could at any hour procure every 
 information necessary to promote his Majesty's interest. 
 
96 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 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 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 con 
 certed for drawing forth those who had hitherto appeared back 
 ward in engaging in the pending contest. 
 
 153. Frequent light skirmishes, by advanced parties, without 
 material effect on either side, were the only incidents that took 
 place for several days. Colonel Hinds, at the head of the Mis 
 sissippi dragoons, on the 30th December, was ordered to dis 
 lodge a party of the enemy, who, under cover of a ditch that 
 ran across the plain, were annoying our fatigue parties. In his 
 advance he was unexpectedly thrown into an ambuscade, and 
 became exposed to the fire of a line, which had hitherto lain 
 concealed and unobserved. His collected conduct and gallant 
 deportment gained him and his corps the approbation 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. 
 
 154. The British were encamped two miles below the Ame 
 rican army, on a perfect plain, and in full view. Although 
 foiled in their attempt to carry our works by the force of their 
 batteries on the 28th, they yet resolved upon another attack, 
 and one which they believed would be more successful. Pre 
 suming 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 opposition, 
 and effecting such breaches in our entrenchment as would en 
 able their columns to pass, without being exposed to any con 
 siderable hazard. The interim between the 28th of December 
 and 1st January was accordingly spent in preparing to execute 
 their designs. Their boats had been dispatched to the shipping, 
 and an additional supply of heavy cannon landed through Bayou 
 Bienvenu, whence they had first debarked. 
 
 155. During the night of the 31st December they were 
 busily engaged. An impenetrable fog next morning, which 
 was not dispelled until nine o'clock, by concealing their pur 
 pose, aided them in the plans they were projecting, and' gave 
 time for the completion of their works. This having disap 
 peared, several heavy batteries, at the distance of six hundred 
 yards, mounting eighteen and twenty-four pound carronades, 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 97 
 
 were presented to view. No sooner was it sufficiently clear to 
 distinguish objects at a distance, than these were opened, and a 
 tremendous burst of artillery commenced, accompanied with 
 congreve rockets, that filled the air in all directions. Our 
 troops, protected by a defence, which from their constant 
 labours and exertions they believed to be impregnable, unmoved 
 and undisturbed, maintained their ground, and by their skilful 
 management in the end, succeeded in dismounting and silencing 
 the guns of the enemy. The British, through the friendly in 
 terference of some disaffected citizens, having been apprized 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 defence, against it 
 directed their first 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 dishonourable design they 
 were however disappointed ; for with Jackson it was a constant 
 practice, on the first appearance of danger, not to wait in his 
 quarters watching events, but 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 morn 
 ing repaired, at the first sound of the cannon, to aid in defence, 
 and inspire 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 nearly noon ; when, by the su 
 perior skill of our engineers, the two batteries formed on the 
 right, next the woods, were nearly beaten down, and many of the 
 guns dismounted, broken, and rendered useless. That next the 
 river still continued its fire until three o'clock ; when perceiving 
 all attempts to force a breach ineffectual, the enemy gave up 
 the contest and retired. Every act of theirs discovers a strange 
 delusion, and unfolds on what wild and fanciful grounds all 
 their expectations were founded. That the American troops 
 were well posted, and strongly defended by pieces of heavy 
 ordnance mounted along their line, was a fact well known ; yet 
 a belief was 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 artillery 
 could produce but slight advantages in the hands of persons 
 who were strangers to the manner of using it. That many who, 
 from necessity, were called to the direction of the guns, 
 were at first entirely unacquainted with their management, is 
 indeed true ; yet the accuracy and precision with which they 
 
98 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 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 science 
 the acquiring of which was not attended with incalculable diffi 
 culties. 
 
 156. That they would be able to effect an opening and march 
 through the strong defence in their front, was an idea so fondly 
 cherished by 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 from danger, they remained, 
 waiting the result that should call them to act. But their 
 efforts 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. 
 
 157. Perceiving their attempts must fail, and that such an 
 effect could not be produced as would warrant their advance, 
 another expedient was resorted to, but with no better success. 
 Jt occurred to the British commander that an attack might be 
 made to advantage next the woods, and a force was accordingly 
 ordered to penetrate in this direction, and turn the left o'f our 
 line, which was supposed not to extend further than to the mar 
 gin of the swamp. In this way, it was expected a diversion 
 could be made, while the reserve columns, being in readiness, 
 and waiting, were to press forward the moment this object could 
 be effected. Here, too, disappointment resulted. Coffee's bri 
 gade, being already extended into the swamp, as far as it was 
 possible for an advancing party to penetrate, brought unex 
 pected dangers into view, and occasioned an abandonment of 
 the project. That to turn the extreme left of the line was prac 
 ticable, and might be attempted, was the subject of early con 
 sideration ; 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 defence even here. This had been entrusted to 
 General Coffee ; and surely a more arduous duty can scarcely 
 be imagined. To form a breast-work in such a place was at 
 tended with many difficulties, and considerable exposure. A 
 slight defence, however, had been thrown up, and the under- 
 
 frr tViirtxr rr fnrtv \rarr1e in frnnt put Hnwn tli.it tllA 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 99 
 
 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 afforded our troops for rest was on logs and 
 brush thrown together, by which they were raised above the 
 surrounding water, it may be truly said, that seldom has it 
 fallen to the lot of any to encounter greater hardships : but 
 accustomed to privation, and alive to those feelings which a 
 love of country inspires, 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 confided to them. 
 
 158. Our loss in this affair was eleven -killed, and twenty- 
 three wounded : that of the enemy was never correctly known. 
 The only certain information is contained in a communication 
 of the 28th January, from General Lambert to Earl Bathurst, 
 in which the casualties and losses, from the 1st to the 5th, are 
 stated at seventy-eight. Many 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 presumed the 
 general's mind was in a situation patiently to remember or mi 
 nutely to detail the facts. From the great precision 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 entrenchment 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 cotton were taken to be applied to strengthening and 
 defending the embrasures along the line. A Frenchman, whose 
 property had been thus, without his consent, seized, fearful of the 
 injury it might sustain, proceeded in person to General Jackson 
 to reclaim it, and to demand its delivery. The general having 
 heard his complaint, and ascertained from him that he was 
 unemployed in any military service, directed a musket to be 
 brought to him, 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. 
 
 159. 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 
 
100 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 confidence in the belief that a few more days would also bring' 
 to his assistance the troops from Kentucky. Each party, there 
 fore, was busily and constantly engaged in preparation, the one 
 to wage a vigorous attack, the other bravely to defend, and 
 resolutely to oppose it. 
 
 1 60. The position of the American army was in the rear of 
 an entrenchment 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 
 ^ry next the river, though in many places the water still re 
 mained, 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 entrenchment, was erected a redoubt, with 
 -embrasures, commanding the road along the levee, and calcu 
 lated to rake the ditch in front. 
 
 161. We have heretofore stated, that General Morgan was 
 ordered on the 24th of December to cross to the west bank of the 
 Mississippi. From an apprehension entertained that an attempt 
 might be made through Barrataria, and the city reached from 
 the right bank of the river, the general had extended his defence 
 there likewise : in fact, unacquainted with the enemy's views, 
 not knowing the number of their troops, nor but that they 
 might have sufficient strength to wage an attack in various di 
 rections, 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 strongest defence 
 next to the one occupied by himself, was on the Chef Menteur 
 road, where Governor Claiborne, at the head of the Louisiana 
 militia, was posted. The position on the right was formed on 
 the same plan with the line on the left, lower down than that 
 on the left, and extending to the swamp at right angles to the 
 river. Here General Morgan commanded. 
 
 162. To be prepared against every possible contingency 
 that might arise, Jackson had established another line of 
 defence, about two miles in the rear of the one at present occu 
 pied, which was intended as a rallying point if he should be driven 
 from his first position. With the aid of his cavalry, to give a 
 momentary check to the advance of the enemy, he expected to be 
 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 progress. To 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 101 
 
 show as possible of strength and intended resistance, his un 
 armed troops, which constituted no very inconsiderable 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. 
 
 163. Occasional firing at a distance, which produced nothing 
 of consequence, was all that marked the interim from the 1st to 
 the 8th of January. 
 
 164. On the 4th of this month, the long-expected reinforce 
 ment from Kentucky, amounting to twenty-two hundred and 
 fifty, under the command of Major-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 expectation of 
 being supplied on their arrival. About five hundred of them 
 had muskets; the rest were provided with guns, from which 
 little or no advantage could be expected. The mayor of New 
 Orleans, at the request of General Jackson, had already ex 
 amined 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 defence 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 situation, 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 entrenchment in the rear, conceal their actual condition, 
 and by the show they might make, add to his appearance and 
 numbers, without at all increasing his strength. 
 
 165. Information was now received that Major-General 
 
102 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 considerable reinforcement. It had been heretofore announced 
 in the American camp that additional forces were expected, and 
 something- decisive might be looked for as soon as they should 
 arrive. This circumstance, in connexion with others no less 
 favouring- the idea, had led to the conclusion that a few days 
 more would, in all probability, bring- on the struggle which 
 would decide the fate of the city. It was more than ever ne 
 cessary to keep concealed the situation of his army ; and, above 
 all, to preserve as secret as possible its unarmed condition. To 
 restrict all communication, even with his own lines, was now, 
 as danger increased, rendered more important. None were 
 permitted to leave the line, and none from without to pass into 
 his camp, but such as were to be implicitly confided in. The line 
 of sentinels were strengthened in front, that none mig-ht pass to 
 the enemy, should desertion be attempted : yet notwithstanding 
 this precaution and care, his plans and situation were disclosed. 
 On the night of the 6th January a soldier from the line, by some 
 means, succeeded in eluding the vigilance of our sentinels. 
 Early next morning his departure was discovered : it was at 
 once correctly conjectured he had gone over to the enemy, and 
 would, no doubt, afford them all the information in his power to 
 communicate. This opinion, as subsequent circumstances dis 
 closed, 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 con 
 dition of many of the troops ; and, pointing to the centre of 
 General Carroll's division, as a place occupied by militia alone, 
 recommended it as the point where an attack might be most 
 prudently and safely made. 
 
 166. Other intelligence received was confirmatory of the be 
 lief of an impending attack. From some prisoners, taken on 
 the lake, it was ascertained the enemy were busily engaged in 
 deepening Villery's canal, with a view of passing their boats 
 and ordnance to the Mississippi. During the 7th a constant 
 bustle was perceived in the British camp. Along the borders of 
 the canal their soldiers were continually in motion, marching 
 and manoeuvring, 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, Commodor6 Patterson had proceeded down the 
 river, on the opposite side, and having gained a favourable 
 position in front of their encampment, discovered them to be 
 actually engaged in deepening the passage to the river. It was 
 no difficult matter to divine their purpose. No other conjee- 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 103 
 
 be made on the line of defence commanded by General Morgan ; 
 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 com 
 pel them to an abandonment of their position. To counteract 
 this scheme was important; and measures were immediately 
 taken to prevent the execution of a plan, which, if successful, 
 would be attended with incalculable dangers. An increased 
 strength was given to this line. The second regiment of Loui 
 siana militia, and four hundred Kentucky troops, were directed 
 to be crossed over, to reinforce and protect it. Owing to some 
 delay and difficulty in arming them, the latter amounting, in 
 stead of four hundred, to but one hundred and eighty, did not 
 arrive until the morning of the 8th. A little before day, they 
 were dispatched to aid an advanced party, who, under the com 
 mand 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, unmo 
 lested, reached the shore. 
 
 167. Morgan's position, besides being strengthened by 
 several brass twelves, was defended by a strong battery, mount 
 ing 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 purposes of suc 
 cessful 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, was abandoned, from the dan 
 ger 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 pre 
 ferred patiently to await their arrival, believing it would be 
 practicable, with the bravery of more than fifteen hundred men, 
 and the slender advantages possessed from their line of defence, 
 to maintain their position, and repel the assailants. 
 
 168. On the left bank, where the general in person com 
 manded, every thing was in readiness to meet the assault when 
 it should be made. The redoubt on the levee was defended by 
 a company of the seventh regiment, under the command of Lieu 
 tenant Ross. The regular troops occupied that part of the en 
 trenchment next the river. General Carroll's division was in 
 the centre, supported by the Kentucky troops, under General 
 
104 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 John Adair ; while the extreme left, extending 1 for a consider 
 able distance into the swamp, was protected by the brigade of 
 General Coffee. How soon the attack should be waged was 
 uncertain ; at what moment rested with the enemy, with us, 
 to be in readiness for resistance. There were many circum 
 stances, however, favouring 1 the belief that the hour of contest 
 wa^ not far distant, and indeed fast approaching ; the bustle of 
 to-day, the efforts to carry their boats into the river, the 
 fascines and scaling-ladders that were preparing 1 , were cir 
 cumstances pointing to attack, and indicating the hour to 
 be near at hand. General Jackson, unmoved by appearances, 
 anxiously desired a contest, which he believed would give a tri 
 umph to his arms, and terminate the hardships of his suffering 
 soldiers. Unremitting in exertion, and constantly vigilant, his 
 precaution kept pace with the zeal and preparation of the 
 enemy. He seldom slept : he was always at his post, perform 
 ing 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. 
 
 169. For eight days had the two armies lain upon the same 
 field, and in view of each other, without any thing decisive being 
 on either side effected. 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 relinquish 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 conquerors of Europe, were 
 there ; distinguished generals their leaders, who earnestly de 
 sired to announce to their country and the world their 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. 
 
 170. The 8th of January at length arrived. The day dawned ; 
 and the signals intended to produce concert in the enemy's move 
 ments were descried. On the left, near the swamp, a sky 
 rocket was perceived rising in the air ; and presently another 
 ascended from the right, next the river. They were intended 
 to announce that all was prepared and ready, to proceed and 
 carry by storm a defence which had twice foiled their utmost 
 efforts. Instantly the charge was made, and with such rapidity, 
 that our soldiers at the out-posts with difficulty fled in. 
 
 117. The British batteries, which had been demolished on 
 
V.] DEFENCE OP NEW ORLEANS. 105 
 
 the 1st of the month, had been re-established during the pre 
 ceding night, and heavy pieces of cannon mounted, to aid in 
 their intended operations. These now opened, and showers of 
 bombs and balls were poured upon our line ; while the air was 
 lighted with their congreve rockets. The two divisions, com 
 manded by Sir Edward Packenham in person, and supported by 
 Generals Keane and Gibbs, pressed forward ; the right against 
 the centre of General Carroll's command, the left against our 
 redoubt on the levee. A thick fog that obscured the morning 
 enabled them to approach within a short distance of our en- 
 trenchment before they were discovered. They were now perw 
 ceived advancing with firm, quick, and steady pace, in column, 
 with a front of sixty or seventy deep. Our troops, who had for 
 some time been in readiness, and waiting their appearance, 
 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 musketry there was 
 not a moment's intermission : as one party discharged their 
 pieces, another succeeded ; alternately loading and appearing, 
 no pause could be perceived it was one continued volley. The 
 columns already perceived their dangerous and exposed situation. 
 Battery No. 7, on the left, was ably served by Lieutenant Spotts, 
 and galled them with an incessant and destructive fire. Batteries 
 No. 6 and 8 were no less actively employed, and no less suc 
 cessful 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 afterwards made prisoners. The 
 horror before them was too great to be withstood ; and already 
 were the British troops seen wavering in their determination, 
 and receding from the conflict. At this moment, Sir Edward 
 Packenham, hastening to the front, endeavoured 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 advancing 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 retreating, until they 
 reached a ditch, at the distance of four hundred yards, \vhere a 
 momentarv safetv berns: found, they were rallied and halted. 
 
106 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 172. 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 deploy, and 
 were endeavouring to do so ; but the same constant and unre- 
 mitted resistance that caused their first retreat, continued yet 
 unabated. Our batteries had never ceased their fire ; their con 
 stant discharges of grape and canister, and the fatal aim of our 
 musketry, mowed down the front of the columns 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 entirely 
 covered with the dead and wounded. It was in vain their 
 officers endeavoured to animate them to further resistance, and 
 equally vain to attempt coercion. The panic produced from the 
 dreadful repulse they had experienced, the plain on which they 
 had acted being covered with innumerable bodies of their 
 countrymen, while with their most zealous exertions they had 
 been unable to obtain the slightest advantage, were circum 
 stances well calculated to make even the most submissive soldier 
 oppose the authority that would have controlled him. 
 
 173. The light companies of fusileers, the forty-third and 
 ninety-third regiments, and one hundred men from the West 
 India regiment, led on by Colonel Rennie, were ordered to pro 
 ceed under cover of some chimneys standing in the field, until 
 having 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 neces 
 sary to its safe defence. The detachment ordered against this 
 place, formed the left of General Keane's command. Rennie 
 executed his orders with great bravery, and urging forward ar 
 rived at the ditch. His advance was greatly annoyed by Com 
 modore Patterson's battery on the left bank, and the cannon 
 mounted on the redoubt ; but reaching our works and passing 
 the ditch, Rennie, sword in hand, leaped on the wall, and calling 
 to his troops, bade them follow; he had scarcely spoken, when 
 he fell by the fatal aim of our riflemen. Pressed by the im 
 petuosity of superior numbers who were mounting the wall and 
 entering 1 at the embrasures, our troops had retired to the line, 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 107 
 
 in rear of the redoubt. A momentary pause ensued, but only 
 to be interrupted with increased horrors. Captain Beal, with 
 the city riflemen, cool and self-possessed, perceiving the enemy 
 in his front, opened upon them, and at every discharge brought 
 the object to the ground. To advance, or maintain the point 
 gained, was equally impracticable for the enemy : to retreat or 
 surrender was the only alternative : for they already perceived 
 the division on the right thrown into confusion, and hastily 
 leaving the field. 
 
 174. General Jackson being informed of the success of the 
 enemy on the right, and of their being in possession of the re 
 doubt, pressed forward a reinforcement to regain it. Previously 
 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 afforded them considerable protec 
 tion ; yet by Commodore Patterson's redoubt on the right bank 
 they suffered greatly. Enfiladed 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 be 
 fore our line ; and of those who 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. Affrighted at the carnage, 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 consideration they fled to the ditch, whither the right 
 division had retreated, and there remained until night permitted 
 them to retire. 
 
 175. The loss of the British in the main attack on the left 
 bank has been at different times variously stated. The killed, 
 wounded, and prisoners, ascertained on the 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 thir 
 teen. Our effective force at the line on the left bank was three 
 
108 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 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 Thornton ; the 
 climate had rendered many unfit for the duties of the field ; 
 while a considerable number had been killed and wounded in 
 the different contests since their arrival. Their strength, there 
 fore, may be fairly estimated, on the 8th, at the number we- 
 have stated ; at any rate not less. 
 
 176. That this was considered an undertaking" of greater 
 magnitude 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 unfrequently places before them 
 allurements stronger than either authority or duty. On the 
 present occasion, this resort was not omitted ; and inducements 
 were held out, 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 gal 
 lantry and desperation ; while, with brutal licentiousness, they 
 were to revel in lawless indulgence, and triumph uncontrolled 
 over female innocence. Scenes like these our nation, disho 
 noured 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 valour, 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 " Beauty and Booty " was 
 the watchword 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 record proof of the 
 fact. 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 109 
 
 177. The events of this day afford abundant evidence of the 
 liberality of the American soldiers, and show a striking differ 
 ence in the troops of the two nations. While 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 hastened to assist 
 him, even at the hazard of his own 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. When 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 which lay under and near the walls ; when, 
 strange to tell, the enemy from the ditch they occupied opened 
 a fire upon them, and, though at a considerable distance, suc 
 ceeded in wounding several. It was enough for our generous 
 soldiers that they were doing an act which the benevolence of 
 their hearts approved, and with charitable perseverance they 
 continued to administer to the wants of these suffering men, 
 and to carry them within their lines, although in their efforts 
 they were continually exposed to danger. Let the apologist for 
 crime say, wherefore were acts thus unpardonable committed 
 against men, who were 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. 
 
 178. A communication, shortly after, from Major-General 
 Lambert, on whom, in consequence of the fall of Generals 
 Packenham, Gibbs, and Keane, the command had devolved, 
 acknowledges 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 of the wounded as were dangerous. 
 Though, in all probability, it was unknown to General Lambert 
 what had been the conduct of his troops on this occasion, and 
 unquestionably not authorised by him, yet Jackson, in answer 
 to his dispatch, did not omit to bring it to his view, and to ex 
 press his utter abhorrence of the act. The request to bury the 
 dead was granted. General Jackson, though, refused to per 
 mit 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 in- 
 
110 LIFE OP JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 terred by their countrymen. This precaution was taken, that 
 the enemy might not have an opportunity to inspect, or know 
 any thing 1 of his situation. 
 
 1 79. General Lambert, desirous of administering- to the re 
 lief of the wounded, and that he might be relieved from his 
 apprehensions of attack, proposed about noon, that hostilities 
 should cease until the same hour the next day. General Jackson, 
 cherishing- the hope of being able to secure an important ad 
 vantage by his apparent willingness to accede to the proposal, 
 drew up an armistice, and forwarded it to General Lambert, 
 with directions for it to be immediately returned if approved. 
 It contained a stipulation to this effect that 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 strata 
 gem ; and although it succeeded 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 who had yielded it the day before, when possessed of ad 
 vantages which gave them a decided superiority : this the com 
 manding general well knew ; yet to spare the sacrifice of his 
 men which, in regaining it, he foresaw must be considerable, he 
 was disposed to venture upon a course which, he felt assured, 
 could not fail to succeed. It was impossible his object 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 additional troops were already 
 thrown over as would be fully adequate to the purposes of attack, 
 and greatly to endanger, if not wholly to cut off, Colonel Thorn 
 ton'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 neg 
 lected to be acted upon until the next day ; and Thornton and 
 his command were, in the interim, under cover of the night, 
 re-crossed, and the ground they occupied left to be peaceably 
 possessed by the original holders. The opportunity thus afforded 
 of regaining a position on which, in a great degree, depended 
 the safety of those on the opposite shore, was accepted with an 
 avidity its importance merited, and immediate measures taken 
 to increase its strength, and prepare it against any future attack 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. Ill 
 
 that might be made. This delay of the British commander was 
 evidently designed, that, pending the negotiation, and before 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 omission, by pleading a press of busi 
 ness, which had occasioned the communication to be overlooked 
 and neglected. Jackson was at no loss to attribute the delay 
 to the correct motive : the apology, however, was as perfectly 
 satisfactory to him as any thing that could have been offered ; 
 beyond the object intended to be effected, he felt unconcerned, 
 and having secured this rested perfectly satisfied. It cannot, 
 however, appear otherwise than extraordinary, that this neglect 
 should have been ascribed by the British 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. 
 
 180. The armistice was this morning (9th of January) con 
 cluded, 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 defence, they 
 almost literally covered. For the reason already suggested, 
 our soldiers, within the line of demarcation between the two 
 camps, delivered over to the British, who were not permitted to 
 cross it, the dead for burial, and the wounded on parole, for 
 which it was stipulated an equal number of American prisoners 
 should be restored. 
 
 181. It has seldom happened that officers were more de 
 ceived 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 ground when warmly assailed : no other belief was enter 
 tained, than alarmed at the appearance and orderly firm approach 
 of veteran troops, they would at once forsake the contest, and 
 in flight seek safety. 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 militi^ ; 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 
 
112 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 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 columns, 
 and drove them from the field, with prodigious slaughter. 
 
 182. 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 entertained 
 of any determined opposition from them. When repulsed from 
 our line, the British officers were fully persuaded that the infor 
 mation given them by the deserter on the night of the 6th wa& 
 false, and that instead of pointing out the ground defended by 
 the militia, he had referred them to the place occupied by our 
 best troops. Enraged at what they believed an intentional de 
 ception, they called their informant before them to account for 
 the mischief he had done. It was in vain he urged his inno 
 cence, and, with the most solemn protestations, declared he had 
 stated the fact truly as it was. They could not be convinced, 
 it was impossible that they had contended against any but the 
 best-disciplined troops ; and, without further ceremony, the poor 
 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 evi 
 dences of valour. In all their future trials with our countrymen, 
 may they be no less deceived, and discover in our yeomanry a 
 determination to sustain with firmness a government which 
 knows nothing of oppression ; but which, on an enlarged and 
 liberal scale, aims to secure the independence and happiness of 
 man. If the people of the United States, free almost as the 
 air they breathe, shall at any time omit to maintain their privi 
 leges and their government, then indeed will it be idle longer 
 to speak of the rights of men, or of their capacity to govern 
 themselves : the dream of liberty must fade away and perish for 
 ever, no more to be remembered or thought of. 
 
 183. After the battle of the 8th of January, Jackson could 
 have captured every man of the British force that was upon the 
 land, if he had been supplied with arms, according to his own 
 repeated urgent requests, and agreeably to the promises that 
 were made him. Not having arms, he was compelled to let the 
 remainder of the " heroes of the Peninsula" escape. They got 
 to the other side of the river, and there they embarked, leaving 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF NEW ORLEANS. 113 
 
 sympathetic sorrows of the traitors. Now, however, these trai 
 tors sang his praises in lofty strains ; put up thanksgiving 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, blood, bones and all. He submitted to the mummery of 
 being fined for having imprisoned the judge, which he did, of 
 course, in order to give an example of submission to the laws, 
 most heartily despising the traitor, and all his brother traitors, at 
 the same time. He found it necessary to remain at New Or 
 leans till March, when he dismissed his troops in the following 
 address, which ought to be read, and preserved, and cherished, 
 in every country in the world : 
 
 Address to the troops at New Orleans, after the annunciation of peace. 
 
 The major-general is at length enabled to perform the pleasing task of 
 restoring to Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, and the territory of the 
 Mississippi, the brave troops who have acted such a distinguished part 
 in the war which has just terminated. In restoring these brave men to 
 their homes, much exertion is expected of, and great responsibility im 
 posed on, the commanding officers of the different corps. It is required 
 of Major-Generals Carroll and Thomas, and Brigadier-General Coffee, to 
 march their commands, without unnecessary delay, to their respective 
 states. The troops from the Mississippi territory and state of Louisiana, 
 both militia and volunteers, will be immediately mustered out of service, 
 paid, and discharged. 
 
 The major-general has the satisfaction of announcing the approbation 
 of the President of the United States to the conduct of the troops under 
 bis command, expressed in flattering terms, through the honourable the 
 secretary at war. 
 
 In parting with those brave men, whose destinies have been so long 
 united with his own, and in whose labours and glories it is his happiness 
 and his boast to have participated, the commanding 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 unpa 
 ralleled ? Let him, in one burst of joy, gratitude, and exultation, exclaim 
 " These are the saviours of their country these the patriot soldiers, 
 who triumphed over the invincibles of Wellington, and conquered the 
 conquerors of Europe !" With what patience did you submit to priva 
 tions with what fortitude did you endure fatigue what valour did you 
 display in the day of battle ! You have secured to America a proud name 
 among the nations of the earth a glory which will never perish. 
 
 Possessing those dispositions, which equally adorn the citizen and 
 the soldier, the expectations of your country will be met in peace, as 
 her wishes have been gratified in war. Go, then, my brave compa 
 nions, to your homes ; to those tender connexions, and blissful scenes, 
 which render life so dear full of honour, and crowned with laurels which 
 will never fade. When participating in the bosoms of your families, the 
 enjoyment of peaceful life, with what happiness will you not look back 
 to the toils you have borne to the dangers you have encountered ? How 
 will all your past exposures be converted into sources of inexpressible 
 deliirht ! Who, that never exoerienced vour sufterins-s. will be able to 
 
114 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 appreciate your joys ? The man who slumbered ingloriously at Lome, 
 during your painful marches, your nights of watchfulness, and your days 
 of toil, will envy you the happiness which these recollections will afford 
 still more will he envy the gratitude of that country 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 diffi 
 culties and danger, he cannot permit the names of Elount, and Shelby, 
 and Holmes, to pass unnoticed. With what generous ardour and patri 
 otism have these distinguished governors contributed all their exertions 
 to provide the means of victory ! The recollection of their exertions, and 
 of the success which has resulted, will be to them a reward more grateful 
 than any which the pomp of title or the splendour of wealth can bestow. 
 
 \\hat happiness it is to the commanding general, that, while danger 
 was before him, he was, on no occasion, compelled to use towards his 
 companions in arms, either severity or rebuke ! If, after the enemy had 
 retired, improper passions began their empire in a few unworthy bosoms, 
 and rendered a resort to energetic measures necessary for their suppres 
 sion, he has not confounded the innocent with the guilty the seduced 
 with the seducers. Towards you, fellow soldiers, the most cheering re 
 collections exist ; blended, alas 1 with regret, that disease and war should 
 have ravished from us so many worthy companions. But the memory of 
 the cause in which they perished, and of the virtues which animated them 
 while living, must occupy the place where sorrow would claim to dwell. 
 
 Farewell, fellow-soldiers. The expression of your general's thanks is 
 feeble, but the gratitude of a country of freemen is yours yours the ap 
 plause of an admiring world. 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON, 
 
 Major -Gen era I commanding. 
 
 184. Let us now see the pretty story which the government 
 dressed up to gull the people of England with. It will be re 
 membered, that Packenham, and Gibbs, and Keane, had been 
 killed, or put hors de combat; so that Lambert became the 
 commander-in-chief. Lambert sent home his dispatch, though 
 of what date, we were not told. Lambert's dispatch was never 
 given to the public. What is called a " bulletin " was dressed 
 up, and published in the London Gazette in the following 
 words, on the 8th of March, 1815 : 
 
 BULLETIN. 
 
 War Department, March 8, 1815. 
 
 Captain Wylly arrived this morning with dispatches from Major- Ge 
 neral Lambert, detailing the operations against the enemy in the neigh 
 bourhood of New Orleans. It appears that the army under the command 
 of Major-General Keane, was landed at the head ot the Bayonne, in the 
 vicinity of New Orleans, on the morning of the 23rd December, without 
 
V.] DEFENCE OF 1 NEW ORLEANS. 115 
 
 opposition ; 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 considerable loss. On the morning of 
 the 25th, Sir E. Packenham arrived, and assumed the command of the 
 army. On the 27th, at day- light, the troops moved forward, driving the 
 enemy's picquets to within six miles of the town, when the main body of 
 the enemy was discovered posted behind a breast- work, extending about 
 
 one thousand yards, with the right resting on the Mississippi, and the 
 left on a thick wood. The interval between the 27th December and the 
 8th January was employed in preparations for an attack upon the enemy's 
 position. The attack which was intended to have been made on the night 
 of the 7th, did not, owing to the difficulties experienced in the passage of 
 the Mississippi, by a corps under Lieutenant-Colonel Thorn ton, which was 
 destined to act on the right bank of the river, take place till early on the 
 morning of the 8th. The division to whom the storming of the enemy's 
 work was entrusted, 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. Major-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 andKeane were nearly 
 at the same moment wounded. The effect of this upon the troops caused 
 a hesitation in their advance, and though order was restored by the ad 
 vance of the reserve under Major-General Lambert, to whom the command 
 of the army had devolved, and Colonel Thornton had succeeded in the 
 operation assigned to him on the right bank of the river ; yet the Major- 
 General, upon the consideration of the difficulties which yet remained to 
 be surmounted, did not think himself justified in ordering a renewal of 
 the attack. The troops, therefore, retired to the position which they had 
 occupied previous to the attack. In that position they remained until 
 the evening of the 18th, when the whole of the wounded, with the ex 
 ception of eighty (whom it was considered dangerous to remove), the 
 field artillery, and all the stores of every description, having been ein- 
 
 arked, the army ired to the head of the Bayonne, where the landing 
 had been originally effected, and re-embarked without molestation. 
 
 185. And this was all that the people of this duped nation 
 ever heard of the matter from first to last. Buonaparte had 
 landed at this time from Elba, and the battle of Waterloo soon 
 succeeded ; and both government and people were extremely glad 
 to forget all about this unmerciful beating in America. This 
 battle of New Orleans broke the heart of European despotism ; 
 and the man who won it, did, in that one act, more for the good 
 and the honour of the human race, than ever was yet done by 
 any other man besides himself. 
 
116 [Chap. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FROM MARCH 1815 TO FEBRUARY 1834. 
 
 Becomes a senator in the congress cif the United States, for the state of Ten 
 nessee. Is a candidate for the presidentship, 1824. Has the greatest 
 number of votes, but is kept out fry a trick of Clay and Gfaioford* Is 
 chosen president in 1829. Declares against a renewal of the bank- 
 charter. Ptits his veto on a bill to renew the charter of the bank. 
 The banks form a conspiracy against his re-election. He is re-elected 
 in the fall of 1832. He denounces the bank, exposes its corruption and 
 bribery, takes the deposits from the bank and places them in the state 
 banks. Publishes his reasons for doing this. Person and character. 
 
 186. Once more Jackson returned to his farm at Nashville ; 
 but after all these exploits ; after the exhibition of such talent,, 
 such inflexible resolution in the performance of every thing 
 which he deemed for the honour and good of his country, it was 
 impossible that a sensible and grateful people should be satis 
 fied without seeing him in the occupation of some important 
 public post. He was soon, therefore, again a member of the 
 congress ; one of the two senators for his own domestic state 
 of Tennessee. At the time when he returned home, Mr. Madi 
 son was the president; Munro succeeded Madison in 1816; 
 and he continued in the office till 1824. In 1824 a new presi 
 dent being to be chosen, Jackson, popular with all but the en 
 vious few, and the monopolizing paper-money many, was put in 
 nomination as a candidate for the presidentship ; and he had 
 more votes than any other candidate, yet he was not chosen pre 
 sident. The English reader will ask how this can be : it is thus. 
 The law is, that electors of the president shall be chosen by the 
 people in every state ; that these electors shall each give his vote 
 for some one person to be president ; that any candidate who 
 has a majority of the votes of the whole of the electors shall be 
 the president; but, if there be no one who has a majority of the 
 whole of the votes of the electors, then the president shall be 
 chosen by the members of the House of Representatives; but 
 that there they shall vote by states ; and that each state shall 
 have one vote and no more. Now, there were four candidates 
 having votes of electors as follows : 
 
 Jackson 99 
 
 Adams 84 
 
 Crawford 47 
 
 Clay .... 31 
 
 261 
 
VI.] BECOMES A SENATOR. 117 
 
 187. Therefore, Jackson not having 1 a majority of the whole, 
 the other kind of election took place ; and as they were the 
 great States who were for him, and the small States for Adams, 
 the other mode of election made Adams the president, though 
 with a minority of votes ! This was a vindictive trick of Clay, 
 who envied and hated Jackson. Crawford and Clay appear to 
 have stood forward for the express purpose of gratifying their 
 envy of Jackson; and thus for four years they deprived the 
 people of the services of the man of their choice. It is right 
 to observe here on the sound judgment of the American people, 
 as most fully proved upon this occasion. The president, though, 
 as we have seen, a most able and beautiful writer, appears never 
 to have taken much part in the war of words. Clay is, they 
 say, one of the best speech-makers in the world ; but the people 
 did not want a speech-maker : they remembered that Washing 
 ton was no speech-maker ; they wanted a man of tried fidelity 
 and resolution ; and, above aft things, a man hostile to the 
 frauds of paper-money : they knew that they had a hydra to 
 destroy, and they wanted a Hercules for a president. Mr. Ro- 
 naldson, of Philadelphia, a most sensible, clear-sighted, and 
 public-spirited man, an essay from whose pen I myself published 
 in England pretty nearly twenty years ago, showing that, if the 
 paper-money were not put a stop to, it must destroy the liber 
 ties of America ; this Mr. Ronaldson, a native of Scotland, 
 but settled from his youth in Philadelphia, I saw at New York, 
 in 1818 ; and he then again pressed upon me the necessity of 
 all good people combining against the infamous paper-money. 
 I do not know, and I never have known, a cleverer man than 
 Mr. Ronaldson : I have been informed by a gentleman from 
 Philadelphia, and now in England, that Mr. Ronaldson was the 
 first man in America to propose Jackson for president ; that he 
 called a meeting for the purpose in Philadelphia ; and from that 
 meeting the proposition spread itself over the union. I have 
 thought it just towards Mr. Ronaldson to relate this fact ; and 
 I thought it just to our cause also ; because the first thought of 
 the matter having emanated from the mind of such a man, is an 
 additional proof of the wisdom of the choice made by the people. 
 188. Adams' four years having expired, he tried the thing 
 again ; but the field was now clear of Clay and of Crawford, who 
 had got pretty well execrated for their conduct at the preceding 
 election ; and now the votes of the electors stood thus : 
 
 Jackson - - 178 
 
 Adams - - - 83 
 
 Total - 261 
 
118 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 189. Now it was, and now it is, that he had, and has, to 
 overcome a more deadly enemy of his country than either the 
 British, or the savages, namely, the monster of paper-money ! 
 In the year 1816, a charter had been granted by the govern 
 ment of the United States, to make a bank of the United States, 
 as nearly as possible like the Bank of England. This bank was 
 a great extension of the paper-money system which had before 
 existed. It was to receive as deposits the taxes raised by the 
 United States ; it was to pay the dividends on the United States' 
 stock or debt; it was to make advances to the government, if 
 necessary ; in short, like the Bank of England, it was to lend 
 the people its notes, bottomed upon the people's own money ; 
 and it necessarily would have, and it did have, the power of 
 raising and of lowering prices at its pleasure ; and thus of 
 enormously enriching the few at the expense of the industrious 
 many, and of producing all those other terrible evils which, by 
 the time that Jackson became president, in 1829, had covered 
 that once-bappy country with misery. Jackson was too just 
 and too wise a man not to use all his lawful powers for putting 
 an end to this hellish system. He was no sooner in possession 
 of his office than he began to take steps for this purpose. In his 
 annual message delivered to the congress, in December 1829, 
 in December 1830, and in December 1831, he expressed his 
 opinions very freely as to this matter, and those opinions de 
 cidedly hostile to the bank, and banking system. In the session 
 of the winter of 1832, the villanous paper-money people, and 
 their supporters, laid a scheme for ousting him from his presi 
 dentship, or for compelling him to give up his hostility to the 
 banks. If he intended to be chosen again, next year was the 
 time for the election ; and, therefore, they thought they would 
 put him to the test, which they did by bringing in, and passing 
 through the two houses, a bill for the renewal of the charter of 
 the Bank of the United States. This was wholly unnecessary, 
 the charter of the bank having four years yet une.rpired ; but 
 his re-election was coming on ; and this was to try him before 
 that took place ; if he signed the act, then it did not signify 
 whether he were elected or not : if he refused to sign it, then 
 there was time to defeat his election. 
 
 190. He knew all this as well as the vile paper-money crew 
 knew it ; but when the bill reached him he instantly put his 
 veto upon rt, and told the two Houses that he never would put 
 his hand to a charter of the bank as long as he existed. This 
 was at the close of the session of 1832 ; and his re-election was 
 to come on in October of that same year. He told the congress, 
 
VI.] ELECTED PRESIDENT. 119 
 
 that he clearly saw that this bill was tendered to him as the 
 means of putting him to the test, and of putting the people to 
 the test too ; and in conclusion of his reasons against signing 
 the bill, he said, " 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." The re-election was to come, as 
 has been just observed, in October; and the bank and all its 
 branches, and all the bankers in the whole country, set to work 
 to defeat his re-election. The bank of the United States made 
 enormous issues of fresh paper, and lent this paper to persons 
 publishing newspapers, and to writers and other persons con 
 nected with the press, in order so to work as to prevent his re 
 election. These miscreants endeavoured to alarm the people 
 at the prospect of low prices and of general bankruptcy and 
 ruin ; and the watchword of the election was, " Jackson and 
 hard money," on one side ; and the " Bank and its supporters," 
 on the other side. It appears that the bank had a very large 
 part of the newspaper press actually in its pay. Nevertheless, 
 the people decided for Jackson. He had, upon this occasion, 
 not three opponents, as before, but one, namely, his bitter and 
 envious enemy, Mr. Clay, over whom he obtained a majority 
 very great indeed. He had the last time to contend with 
 Adams, who had none but the aristocratical party for him. 
 Clay was, therefore, chosen as his opponent this time, it being 
 supposed that the aristocratical party would all vote for Clay, 
 though he had always been of the other party. Of the two it 
 was thought that they would prefer Clay ; and it was thought 
 that some of the democratic party, at any rate, would vote 
 for Clay. These calculations, though rational enough, were 
 thwarted by the event : all the people knew that Jackson had 
 declared against the bank ; and being of his opinion, they de 
 cided by a great majority, that the bank ought to cease. The 
 people chose Jackson ; and, by choosing him, they decided in 
 favour of hard money. When the English reader is thus in 
 formed of the history of these two elections, he will cease to be 
 surprised at the very long and admirably eloquent speeches of 
 Mr. Clay, against what he calls the " tyranny" of the " dicta 
 tor" Jackson; and he will cease to wonder, that these very 
 lengthy and most pathetic patriotic harangues appear to 
 produce no more effect upon the American people, than is 
 produced on them by the squeaking of the frogs, the clamour 
 of the Kiddadids, or the whistling of the " whipper- wills." 
 But, the delinquencies of these infamous bankers were not to 
 
120 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 be tolerated any longer. The president had determined not to 
 renew the charter of this great bank ; but it had too long- a time 
 to do mischief in ; and he, therefore, resolved to pare its nails. 
 The Act establishing the bank provided, that the public money 
 should be deposited in the bank, unless the secretary of the 
 Treasury should think proper to deposit it at any other place, 
 which he might do at any time, merely informing the House of 
 Representatives that he had so done ; and, as this secretary is 
 appointed by the president himself, he will hardly, in such a 
 case, act contrary to his will. The president, therefore, ordered 
 the secretary of the Treasury, or at least induced him, to take 
 the deposits from the great bank, and place them in some of 
 the state banks. One secretary would not do this, and he was 
 compelled to choose another that would do it. In justification 
 of a measure so decided, and of such vast importance, the pre 
 sident exposed the corruption, the bribery, the roguery inde 
 scribable, of this abominable Bank of the United States ; and 
 showed, that neither law, nor constitution, nor private property, 
 nor public safety, could co-exist with this atrocious institution. 
 As a vehicle for these his accusations against the bank, he pub 
 lished, on the 28th of September, 1833, a letter, addressed by 
 him to the several ministers of his cabinet. This letter, one of 
 the greatest acts of his whole wonderful life, I here insert, as 
 containing the history of the abominations of this nefarious 
 bank, and as containing the grounds of all those proceedings of 
 the president, which he is now (March, 1834) pushing forward, 
 and which promise to deliver his country from the accursed 
 scourge of paper-money. 
 
 Read to the Cabinet on the 18. of September, 1833. 
 
 A. Having carefully and anxiously considered all the facts and argu 
 ments which have been submitted to him, relative to a removal of the 
 public deposits from the Bank of the United States, the President deems 
 it his duty to communicate in this manner to his Cabinet the final con 
 clusions of his own mind, and the reasons on which they are founded, in 
 order to put them in a durable form, and to prevent misconceptions. 
 
 B. The President's convictions of the dangerous tendencies of the 
 Bank of the United States, since signally illustrated by its own acts, 
 were so overpowering when he entered upon the duties of chief 
 magistrate, that he felt it his duty, notwithstanding the objections of the 
 friends by whom he was surrounded, to avail himself of the first occasion 
 to call the attention of Congress and the people to the question of its 
 re-charter. The opinions expressed in his annual message of December 
 1829, were reiterated in those of December 1830 and 1831 ; and in that 
 of 1830 he threw out for consideration some suggestions in relation to a 
 
VI.] WAR WITH THE BANK. 121 
 
 substitute. At the session of 1831-2, an act was passed by a majority of 
 both Houses of Congress re-chartering the present bank, upon which the 
 President felt it his duty to put his constitutional veto. In his message, 
 returning that act, he repeated and enlarged upon the principles and 
 views briefly asserted in his annual messages, declaring the bank to be, 
 in his opinion, both inexpedient and unconstitutional, and announcing to 
 his countrymen, very unequivocally, his firm determination never to 
 sanction, by his approval, the continuance of that institution, or the 
 establishment of any other upon similar principles. 
 
 C. There are strong reasons for believing that the motive of the Bank 
 in asking for a re-charter at that session of Congress, was to make it a 
 leading question in the election of a President of the United States the 
 ensuing November, and all steps deemed necessary were taken to procure 
 from the people a reversal of the President's decision. 
 
 D. Although the charter was approaching its termination, and the 
 Bank was aware that it was the intention of the Government to use the 
 public deposits, as fast as they accrued, in the payment of the public 
 debt, yet it did extend its loans from January 1831 to May 1832, from 
 42,402,304 dollars to 70,428,070 dollars, being an increase of 28,025,766 
 dollars in sixteen months. It is confidently believed that the leading 
 object of this immense extension of its loans was to bring as large a 
 portion of the people as possible under its power and influence ; and it 
 lias been disclosed that some of the largest sums were granted on very 
 unusual terms to conductors of the public press. In some of these cases 
 the motive was made manifest by the nominal or insufficient security 
 taken for the loans, by the large amounts discounted, by the extraordinary 
 time allowed for payment, and especially by the subsequent conduct of. 
 those receiving the accommodation. 
 
 E. Having taken these preliminary steps to obtain control over public 
 opinion, the Bank came into Congress and asked a new charter. The 
 object avowed by many of the advocates of the Bank, was to put the 
 President to the test, that the country might know his final determination 
 relative to the Bank, prior to the ensuing election. Many documents 
 and articles were printed and circulated at the expense of the Bank, to 
 bring the people to a favourable decision upon its pretensions. Those 
 whom the Bank appears to have made its debtors for the special occasion, 
 were warned of the ruin which awaited them should the President be 
 sustained, and attempts were made to alarm the whole people, by painting 
 the depression in the price of property and produce, and the general loss, 
 inconvenience, and distress, which it was represented would immediately 
 follow the re-election of the President in opposition to the Bank. 
 
 F. Can it now be said that the question of a re-charter of the Bank 
 was not decided at the election which ensued 1 Had the veto -been 
 equivocal, or had it not covered the whole ground, if it had merely 
 taken exceptions to the details of the bill, or to the time of its passage, if 
 it had not met the whole ground of constitutionality and expediency, then 
 there might have been some plausibility for the allegation that the 
 
 eole. It 
 
 question was not decided by the people. It was to compel the P . 
 to take his stand that the question was brought forward at that particular 
 time. He met the challenge, willingly took the position into which his 
 adversaries sought to force him, and frankly declared his unalterable 
 opposition to the Bank, as being both unconstitutional and inexpedient. 
 On that ground the case was argued to the people, and now that the people 
 have sustained the President notwithstanding the array of influence and 
 
122 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 power which vras brought to bear upon him, it is too late, he confidently 
 thinks, to say that the question has not been decided. Whatever may be 
 the opinions of others, the President considers his re-election as a decision 
 of the people against the Bank. In the concluding paragraph of this 
 veto message he said 
 
 G. " 1 have now done my duty to my country. If sustained by my 
 fellow-citizens, 1 shall be grateful and happy ; if not, 1 shall find in the 
 motives which impel me, ample grounds for contentment and peace." 
 
 He was sustained by a just people, and he desires to evince his 
 gratitude, by carrying into effect their decision, so far as it depends 
 upon him. 
 
 H. Of all the substitutes for the present Bank which have been sug 
 gested, none seems to have united any considerable portion of the public 
 in its favour. Most of them are liable to the same constitutional objections 
 for which the present Bank has been condemned, and perhaps to all there 
 are strong objections on the score of expediency. In ridding the country 
 of the irresponsible power which has attempted to control the Govern 
 ment, care must be taken not to unite the same power with the executive 
 branch. To give a President the control over the currency, and the power 
 over individuals, now possessed by the Bank of the United States, even 
 with the material difference that he is responsible to the people, would 
 be as objectionable and as dangerous as to leave it as it is. Neither the 
 one nor the other is necessary, and therefore ought net to be resorted to. 
 
 I. On the whole, the President considers it as conclusively settled 
 that the charter of the Bank of the United States will not be renewed, 
 and he has no reasonable ground to believe that any substitute will be 
 established. Being bound to regulate his course by the laws as they 
 exist, and not to anticipate the interference of the legislative power, for 
 the purpose of framing new systems, it is pi'oper for him seasonably to 
 consider the means by which the services rendered by the Bank of the 
 United States are to be performed after its charter shall expire. 
 
 K. The existing laws declare, that "the deposits of the money of the 
 "United States in places in which the said Bank and branches thereof may 
 be established, shall be made in said Bank or branches thereof, unless the 
 Secretary of the Treasury shall at any time otherwise order and direct, in 
 which case the Secretary of the Treasury shall immediately lay before 
 Congress, if in session, and if not, immediately after the commencement 
 of the next session, the reason of such order or direction." 
 
 L. The power of the Secretary of the Treasury over the deposits is 
 unqualified. The provision that he shall report his reasons to Congress 
 is no limitation. H ad it not been inserted, he would have been responsible 
 to Congress had he made a removal for any other than good reasons, 
 and his responsibility now ceases upon the rendition of sufficient ones to 
 Congress. The only object of the provision is to make his reasons access 
 ible to Congress, and enable that body the more readily to judge of their 
 soundness and purity, and thereupon to make such further provision by 
 law as the legislative power may think proper in relation to the deposit of 
 the public money. Those reasons may be very diversified. It was as 
 serted by the Secretary of the Treasury, without contradiction, as early 
 as 1817, that he had power " to control the proceedings " of the Bank of 
 the United States at any moment, " by changing the deposits to the State 
 Banks," should it pursue an illiberal course towards those institutions ; 
 that "the Secretary of the Treasury will always be disposed to support 
 the credit of the Slate Banks, and will invariably direct transfers from the 
 
VI.} WAR WITH THE BANK. 123 
 
 deposits of the public money in aid of their legitimate exertions to main 
 tain their credit ," and he asserted a right to employ the State Banks 
 when the Bank of the United States should refuse to receive on deposit 
 the notes of such State Banks as the public interest required should be 
 received in payment of the public dues. In several instances he did 
 transfer the public deposits to State Banks, in the immediate vicinity o 
 branches, for reasons connected only with the safety of those banks, the 
 public convenience, and the interests of the Treasury. 
 
 M. If it was lawful for Mr. Crawford, the Secretary of the Treasury, 
 at that time to act on these principles, it will be difficult to discover any 
 sound reason against the application of similar principles in still stronger 
 cases And it is a matter of surprise that a power which, in the infancy 
 of the Bank, was freely asserted as one of the ordinary and familiar duties 
 of the Secretary of the Treasury, should now be gravely questioned, and 
 attempts made to excite and alarm the public mind as if some new and 
 unheard-of power was about to be usurped by the executive branch of the 
 Government. 
 
 N. It is but a little more than two years and a Jialf to the termination 
 of the charter of the present Bank. It is considered, as the decision of 
 the country, that it shall then cease to exist, and no man, the President 
 believes, has reasonable ground for expectation that any other bank of 
 the United States will be created by Congress. To the Treasury De 
 partment is intrusted the safe keeping and faithful application of the 
 public monies. A plan of collection different from the present must, 
 therefore, be introduced and put in complete operation before the disso 
 lution of the present Bank. When shall it be commenced? Shall no step 
 be taken in this essential concern until the charter expires, and the Trea 
 sury finds itself without an agent, its accounts in confusion, with no de 
 pository for its funds, and the whole business of the Government de 
 ranged ? Or shall it be delayed until six months, or a year, or two years, 
 before the expiration of the charter ? It is obvious that any new system 
 which may be substituted in the place of the Bank of the United States, 
 could not be suddenly carried into effect on the termination of its exist 
 ence without serious inconvenience to the Government and the people. 
 Its vast amount of notes is then to be redeemed and withdrawn from cir 
 culation, and its immense debt collected. These operations must be 
 gradual, otherwise much suffering and distress will be brought upon the 
 community. It ought to be, not a work of months only, but of years, and 
 the President thinks it cannot, with due attention to the interests of the 
 people, be longer postponed. It is safer to begin it too soon than to delay 
 it too long. 
 
 O. It is for the wisdom of Congress to decide upon the best substitute 
 to be adopted in the place of the Bank of the United States ; and the Pre 
 sident would have felt himself relieved from a heavy and painful respon 
 sibility if in the charter to the Bank, Congress had reserved to itself the 
 power of directing, at its pleasure, the public money to be elsewhere de 
 posited, and had not devolved that power exclusively on one of the exe 
 cutive departments. It is useless now to inquire why this high and 
 important power was surrendered by those who are peculiarly and appro 
 priately the guardians of the public money. Perhaps it was an oversight. 
 But as the President presumes that the charter to the Bank is to be con 
 sidered as a contract on the part of the Government, it is not now in the 
 power of Congress to disregard its stipulations; and by the terms of that con 
 tract the public money is to be deposited in the Bank during the continuance 
 
 22 
 
i24 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 of its charter, unless the Secretary of the Treasury shall otherwise direct. 
 Unless, therefore, the Secretary of the Treasury h'rst acts, Congress have 
 no power over the subject, for they cannot add a new clause to the charter, 
 or strike one out of it, without the consent of the Bank ; and consequently 
 the public money must remain in that institution to the last hour of its 
 existence, unless the Secretary of the Treasury shall remove it ut an. 
 earlier day. The responsibility is thus thrown upon the executive branch 
 of the Government, of deciding how long before the expiration of the 
 charter the public interests will require the deposits to be placed else 
 where ; and although, according to the frame and principle of our govern 
 ment, 5 this decision would seem more properly to belong to the legislative 
 power, yet, as the law has imposed it upon the executive department, the 
 duty ought to be faithfully and firmly met, and the decision made and 
 executed upon the best lights that can be obtained, and the best judgment 
 that can be formed. It would ill become the executive branch of the 
 Government to shrink from any duty which the law imposes on it, to fix 
 upon others the responsibility which justly belongs to itself. 
 
 P. And while the President anxiously wishes to abstain from the exer 
 cise of doubtful powers, and to avoid all interference with the rights and 
 duties of others, he must yet, with unshaken constancy, discharge his own 
 obligations : and cannot allow himself to turn aside, in order to avoid any 
 responsibility which the high trust with which he has been honoured re 
 quires him to encounter, ; and it being the duty of one of the executive 
 departments to decide, in the first instance, subject to the future action 
 of the legislative power, whether the public deposits shall remain in the 
 Bank of the United States until the end of its existence, or be withdrawn 
 some time before, the President has felt himself bound to examine the 
 question carefully and deliberately, in order to make up his judgment on 
 the subject ; and in his opinion the near approach of the termination of 
 the charter, and the public considerations heretofore mentioned, are of 
 themselves amply sufficient to justify the removal of the deposits with 
 out reference to the conduct of the Bank, or their safety in its keeping. 
 
 Q. But in the conduct of the Bank may be found other reasons very 
 imperative in their character, and which require prompt action. De 
 velopments have been made from time to time of its faithlessness as a. 
 public agent, its misapplication of public funds, its interference in elec 
 tions, its efforts by the machinery of committees to deprive the Govern 
 ment directors of a full knowledge of its concerns, and, above all, its 
 flagrant misconduct as recently and unexpectedly disclosed in placing all 
 the funds of the Bank, including the money of the Government, at the 
 disposition of the President of the Bank, as means of operating upon 
 public opinion and procuring a new charter without requiring him to 
 render a voucher for their disbursement. A brief recapitulation of the 
 facts which justify these charges and which have come to the knowledge 
 of the public and the President, will, he thinks, remove every reasonable 
 doubt as to the course which it is now the duty of the President to pursue. 
 R. We have seen, that in sixteen months, ending in May 1833, the 
 Bank had extended its loans more than 28,000,000 dollars, 'although it 
 knew the Government intended to appropriate most of its large deposits 
 during that year in payment of the public debt. It was in May 1832 
 that its loans arrived at the maximum, and in the preceding March, so 
 sensible was the Bank that it would not be able to pay over the public 
 deposits when it would be required by the Government, that it com 
 menced a secret negotiation without the approbation or knowledge of the 
 
VI.] WAR WITH THE BANK. 125 
 
 Government with the agents, for about 2,700,000 dollars of the 3 per 
 cent stocks held in Holland, with a view of inducing them not to come 
 forward for payment for one or more years after notice should he given 
 by the Treasury Department. This arrangement would have enabled the 
 Bank to keep and use during that time the public money set apart for the 
 payment of these stocks. 
 
 b. After this negotiation had commenced, the Secretary of the Treasury 
 informed the Bank that it was his intention to pay off one-half of the 3 
 per cents, on the 1st of the succeeding July, which amounted to about 
 6,500,000 dollars. The President of the Bank, although the committee 
 of investigation was then looking into its affairs at Philadelphia, came im 
 mediately to Washington, and upon representing that the Bank was 
 desirous of accommodating the importing merchants at New York (which 
 it failed to do), and undertaking to pay the interest itself, procured the. 
 consent of the Secretary, after consulting with the President, to postpone 
 the payment until the succeeding 1st of October. 
 
 T. Conscious that at the end of that quarter the Bank would not be able 
 to pay over the deposits, and that further indulgence was not to be 
 expected of the Government, an agent was dispatched to England, 
 secretly to negotiate with the holders of the public debt in Europe, and 
 induce them by the offer of an equal or higher interest than that paid by 
 the Government to hold back their claims for one year, during which the 
 Bank expected thus to retain the use of 5,000,000 dollars of public 
 money, which the Government should set apart for the payment of that 
 debt. The agent made an arrangement on terms, in part, which were in 
 direct violation of the charter of the Bank, and when some incidents 
 connected with this secret negotiation accidentally came to the knowledge 
 of the public and die Government, then, and not before, so much of it as 
 was palpably in violation of the charter was disavowed! A modification 
 of the rest was attempted, with the view of getting the certificates without 
 payment of the money, and thus absolving the Government from its 
 liability to the holders. In this scheme the Bank was partially 
 successful, but to this clay the certificates of a portion of these stocks 
 have not been paid, and the Bank retains the use of the money. 
 , U. This effort to thwart the Government in the payinentof the public debt, 
 that it might retain the public money to be used for their private interests, 
 palliated by pretences notoriously unfounded and insincere, would have 
 justified the instant withdrawal of the public deposits. The negotiation 
 itself rendered doubtful the ability of the Bank to meet the demands of 
 the Treasury, and the misrepresentations by which it was attempted to 
 be justified, proved that no reliance could be placed upon its allegations. 
 
 V. If the question of a removal of the deposits presented itself to the 
 executive in the same attitude that it appeared before the House of 
 Representatives at their last session, their resolution in relation to the 
 safety of the deposits would be entitled to more weight, although the 
 decision of the question of removal has been confided by law to another 
 department of the Government. But the question now occurs, attended 
 by other circumstances and new disclosures of the most serious import. 
 It is. true that in the message of the President, which produced this 
 inquiry and resolution on the part of the House of Representatives, it wat; 
 his object to obtain the aid of that body in making a thorough examination 
 into the conduct and condition of the Bank and its branches, in order to 
 enable the executive department to decide whether the public money was 
 longer safe in its hands. The limited power of the Secretary of the 
 
126 LIFE OF JACKSOX. [Chap. 
 
 Treasury over the subject, disabled him from making the investigation as 
 fuily and satisfactorily as it could be done by a committee of the House 
 of Representatives, and hence the President desired the assistance of 
 Congress to obtain for the Treasury department a full knowledge of all 
 the facts which were necessary to guide his judgment. But it was not 
 his purpose, as the language of his message will show, to ask the repre 
 sentatives of the people to assume a responsibility which did not belong 
 to them, and relieve the executive branch of the Government from the 
 duty which the law had imposed upon it. It is due to the President that 
 his object in that proceeding should be distinctly understood, and that he 
 should acquit himself of all suspicion of seeking to escape from the 
 performance of his own duties, or of desiring to interpose another body 
 between himself and the people, in order to avoid a measure which he is 
 called upon to meet. But although, as an act of justice to himself, he 
 disclaims any design of soliciting the opinion of the House of Representa 
 tives in relation to his own duties, in order to shelter himself from 
 the responsibility under the sanction of their counsel, yet he is at all 
 times ready to listen to the suggestions of the representatives of the 
 people, whether given voluntarily or upon solicitation, and to consider 
 them with the profound respect to which all will admit they are justly 
 entitled. Whatever may be the consequences, however, to himself, he 
 must finally form his own judgment where the constitution and the law- 
 make it his duty to decide, and must act accordingly ; and he is bound to 
 suppose that such a course on his part will never be regarded by that 
 elevated body as a mark of disrespect to itself, but that they will, on the 
 contrary, esteem it the strongest evidence he can give of his fixed resolu 
 tion conscientiously to discharge his duty to them and the country. 
 
 W. A new state of things has, however, arisen since the close of the 
 last session of Congress, and evidence has since been laid before the 
 President, which he is persuaded would have led the House of Repre 
 sentatives to a different conclusion, if it had come to their knowledge. 
 The fact that the Bank controls, and in some cases substantially owns, 
 and by its money supports some of the leading presses of the country, is 
 now more clearly established. Editors to whom it loaned extravagant 
 sums in 1831 and 1832, on unusual time and nominal security, have since 
 turned out to be insolvents ; and to others, apparently in no better con 
 dition, accommodations still more extravagant, on terms more unusual, 
 and sometimes without any security, have also been heedlessly granted. 
 
 X. The allegation which has so often circulated through these channels, 
 that the Treasury was bankrupt, and the Bank were sustaining it, when 
 for many years there has not been less on an average than six millions of 
 public money in that institution, might be passed over as a harmless 
 misrepresentation ; but when it is attempted by substantial acts to impair 
 the credit of the Governmeat, and tarnish the honour of the country, such 
 charges require more serious attention. With six millions of public 
 money in its vaults, after having had the use of from five to twelve mil 
 lions for nine years, without interest, it became the purchaser of a bill 
 drawn by our Government on that of France for about 900,000 dollars, 
 being the first instalment of the French indemnity. The purchase-money 
 was left in the use of the Bank, being simply added to the Treasury de 
 posits. The Bank sold the bill in England* and the holder sent it to 
 France for collection, and arrangements not having been made by the 
 French Government for its payment, it was taken up by the agents of the 
 Bank in Paris with the funds of the Bank in their hands. Under these 
 
VI.] 
 
 WAR WITH THE BANK. 127 
 
 circumstances it has, through its organs, openly assailed the credit of the 
 Government ; and has actually made, and persists in a demand of 15 per 
 cent., or 15,884,277 dollars as damages, when no damage or none beyond 
 some trifling expense, has in fact been sustained ; and when the Bank 
 had in its own possession in deposit several millions of the public money, 
 which it was then using for its own profit. Is a fiscal agent of the Govern 
 ment, which thus seeks to enrich itself at the expense of the public, 
 worthy of further trust ? 
 
 Y. There are other important facts not in the contemplation of the 
 House of Representatives, or not known to the Members at the time they 
 voted for the resolution. 
 
 Z. Although the charter and the rules of the Bank both declared that 
 " not less than seven directors " shall be necessary to the transaction of 
 business, yet the most important business, even that of granting discounts 
 to any extent, is intrusted to a committee of five members, who do not 
 report to the boaad. 
 
 a. To cut off all means of communication with the Government in rela 
 tion to its own most important acts, at the commencement of the present 
 year, not one of the Government Directors was placed on any one com 
 mittee ; and although since, bv an unusual remodelling of those bodies, 
 some of those directors have been placed on some of the committees, they 
 are yet entirely excluded from the committee of exchange, through which 
 the greatest and most objectionable loans have been made. 
 
 b. When the Government Directors made an effort to bring back the 
 business of the Bank to the Board, in obedience to the charter and the 
 existing regulations, the Board not only overruled their attempt, but 
 altered the rule, so as to make it conform to the practice, in direct viola 
 tion of one of the most important provisions of the charter which gave 
 them existence. 
 
 c. It has long been known that the President of the Bank by his single 
 will originates and executes many of the most important measures con 
 nected with the management and credit of the Bank, and that the com 
 mittee, as well as the Board of Directors, are left in entire ignorance of 
 many acts done, and correspondence carried on, in their name, and appar 
 ently under their authority. The fact has been recently disclosed, that 
 an unlimited discretion has been, and is now, vested in the President of 
 the Bank, to expend its funds in payment for preparing and circulating 
 articles, and purchasing pamphlets and newspapers, calculated by their 
 contents to operate on elections, and secure a renewal of its charter. It 
 appears from the official report of the public directors, that on the 30. 
 of November, 1830, the President submitted to the Board an article pub 
 lished in the American Quarterly Review, containing favourable notices of 
 the Bank, and suggesting the expediency of giving it a wider circulation 
 at the expense of the Bank ; whereupon the Board passed the following; 
 resolution, viz : 
 
 d. " Resolved, That the President be authorized to take such mea 
 sures in regard to the circulation of the contents of the said article, either 
 in whole or in part, as he may deem most for the interest of the Bank." 
 
 e. By an entry of the minutes of the Bank, dated March the 11., 1831, 
 it appears that the President had not only caused a large edition of that 
 article to be issued, but had also, before the resolution of the 30. of No 
 vember was adopted, procured to be printed and widely circulated nume 
 rous copies of the reports of General Smith and Mr. M'Duffie in favour of 
 the Bank, and on that day he suggested the expediency of extending his 
 
128 LIFE OP JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 power to the printing of other articles which might subserve the purposes 
 of the institution. Whereupon the following resolution was adopted, 
 viz. : 
 
 f. " Resolved, That the President is hereby authorized to cause to 
 be prepared and circulated such documents and papers as may communi 
 cate to the people information in regard to the nature and operations of 
 the Bank,'' 
 
 g. The expenditure purporting to have been made under authority 
 of these resolutions, during the years 1831 and 1832, were about 80,000 
 dollars. For a portion of these expenditures vouchers were rendered, 
 from which it appears that they were incurred in the purchase of some 
 hundred thousand copies of newspapers, reports of and speeches made in 
 Congress, reviews of the veto message, and reviews of speeches against 
 the Bank, &c. For another large portion no vouchers whatever were ren 
 dered, but the various sums were paid on orders of the President of the 
 Bank, making reference to the resolutions of the 11. of March, 1831. 
 
 h. On ascertaining these facts, and perceiving that expenditures of a 
 similar character were still continued, the Government directors a few 
 weeks ago offered a resolution to the Board calling for a specific account 
 of these expenditures, showing the objects to which they had been applied, 
 and the persons to whom the money had been paid. This reasonable 
 proposition was voted down. 
 
 i. They also oifered a resolution, rescinding the resolutions of Novem 
 ber 1830, and March 1831. This was also rejected. 
 
 j. Not content with thus refusing to recall the obnoxious power, or 
 even to require such an account of the expenditure as would show whether 
 the money of the Bank had, in fact, been applied to the objects contem 
 plated by those resolutions, as obnoxious as they were, the Board renewed 
 the power already conferred, and even enjoined renewed attention to its 
 exercise, by adopting the following in lieu of the proposition submitted by 
 the Government Directors : 
 
 k. " Resolved, That the Board have confidence in the wisdom and 
 integrity of the President, and in the propriety of the resolutions of the 
 30. of November, 1830, and the 11. of March, 1831, and entertain a full 
 conviction of the necessity of a renewed attention to the object of those 
 resolutions, and that the President be authorized and requested to continue 
 his exertions for the promotion of the said object." 
 
 1. Taken in connexion with the nature of the expenditures heretofore 
 made, as recently disclosed, which the Board not only tolerate but 
 approve, this resolution puts the funds of the Bank at the disposition of 
 the President, for the purpose of employing the whole press of the 
 country in the service of the Bank, to hire writers and newspapers, and 
 to pay out such sums us he pleases, to what persons and for what services 
 he pleases, without the responsibility of rendering any specific account. 
 The Bank is thus converted into a vast electioneering engine, with means 
 to embroil the country in deadly feuds, and, under cover of expenditures 
 in themselves improper, extend its corruption through all the ramifica 
 tions of society. 
 
 m. Some of the items for which accounts have been rendered, show 
 the construction which has been given to the resolutions, and the way in 
 which the power it confers has been exerted. The money has not been 
 expended merely in the publication and distribution of speeches, reports 
 of committees, and of articles written for the purpose of showing the 
 constitutionality or usefulness of the Bank. Publications have been 
 
VI.] WAR WITH THE BANK. 329 
 
 prepared and extensively circulated, containing the grossest invectives 
 against the officers of the Government ; and the money which belongs to 
 the stockholders and to the public, has been freely applied in efforts to 
 degrade in public estimation those who were supposed to be instrumental 
 in resisting the wishes of this grasping and dangerous institution. As 
 the President of the Bank has not been required to settle his accounts, no 
 one but himself yet knows how much more than the sum already men 
 tioned may have been squandered, and for which a credit may hereafter 
 be claimed in his account, under this most extraordinary resolution. 
 With these facts before us, can we be surprised at the torrent of abuse 
 incessantly poured out against all who are supposed to stand in the way of 
 the cupidity or ambition of the Bank of the United States? Can we be 
 surprised at sudden and unexpected changes of opinion in favour of an 
 institution which has millions to lavish, and avows its determination not 
 to spare its means when they are necessary to accomplish its purposes ? 
 The refusal to render an account of the manner in which a part of the 
 money expended has been applied, gives just cause for the suspicion, 
 that it has been used for purposes which it is not deemed prudent to 
 expose to the eyes of an intelligent and virtuous people. Those who 
 act justly do not shun the light, nor do they refuse explanations when the 
 propriety of their conduct is brought into question. 
 
 n. With these facts before him, in an official report from the Govern 
 ment Directors, the President would feel that he is not only responsible 
 for all the abuses and corruptions the Bank has committed, or may 
 commit, but almost an accomplice in a conspiracy against that Govern 
 ment which he had sworn honestly to administer, if he did not take every 
 step within his constitutional and legal power, likely to be efficient in 
 putting an end to these enormities. If it be possible, within the scope of 
 human affairs, to find a reason for removing the Government deposits, 
 and leaving the Bank to its own resources for the means of effecting its 
 criminal designs, we have it here. Was it expected, when the monies of 
 the United fetates were directed to be placed in that Bank, that they 
 would be put under the control of one man, empowered to spend millions 
 without rendering a voucher or specifying the object? Can they be 
 considered safe, with the evidence before us, that tens of thousands have 
 been spent for highly improper, if not corrupt purposes, and that the 
 same motive may lead to the expenditure of hundreds of thousands, and 
 even millions, more 1 And can we justify ourselves to the people by 
 longer lending to it the money and power of the Government, to be 
 employed for such purposes 1 
 
 o. It has been alleged by some, as an objection to the removal of the 
 deposits, that the Bank has the power, and in that event will have the dis 
 position, to destroy the State Banks employed by the Government, and 
 bring distress upon the country. Jt has been the fortune of the President 
 to encounter dangers which were represented as equally alarming, and 
 he has seen them vanish before resolution and energy. Pictures equally 
 appalling were paraded before him when this Bank came to demand a new 
 charter. But what was the result? Has the country been ruined, or 
 even distressed ? Was it ever more prosperous than since that act 1 The 
 President verily believes the Bank has not the power to produce the 
 calamities its friends threaten. The funds of the Government will not be 
 annihilated by being transferred; they will immediately be issued for the 
 benefit of trade, and if the Bank of the United States curtails its loans, the 
 State Banks, strengthened by the public deposits, will extend theirs. 
 
130 LIPE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 What comes in through one Bank will go out through others, and the 
 equilibrium will be preserved. Should the Bank, for the mere purpose 
 of producing distress, press its debtors more heavily than some of them 
 can bear, the consequences will recoil upon itself, and in the attempts to 
 embarrass the country, it will only bring loss and ruin upon the holders 
 of its own stock. But if the President believed the Bank possessed all 
 the power which has been attributed to it, his determination would only 
 be rendered the more inflexible. If, indeed, this corporation now holds 
 in its hands the happiness and prosperity of the American people, it is 
 high time to take the alarm. If the despotism be already upon us, and 
 our only safety is in the mercy of the despot, recent developments in rela 
 tion to his designs and the means he employs show how necessary it is to 
 shake it off. The struggle can never come with less distress to the peo 
 ple, or under more favourable auspices, than at the present moment. 
 
 p. All doubt as to the willingness of the State Banks to undertake the 
 service of the Government, to the same extent, and on the same terms, as 
 it is now performed by the Bank of the United States, is put to rest by 
 the report of the agent recently employed to collect information ; and 
 from that willingness their own safety in the operation may be confidently- 
 inferred. Knowing their own resources better than they can be known 
 by others, it is not to be supposed that they would be willing to place 
 themselves in a situation which they cannot occupy without danger of 
 annihilation or embarrassment. The only consideration applies to the 
 safety ofthe public funds, if deposited in those institutions. And when 
 it is seen that the directors of many of them are not only willing to pledge 
 the character and capital of the corporations in giving' success to this 
 measure, but also their own property and reputation, we cannot doubt that 
 they at least believe the public deposits would be safe in their manage 
 ment. The President thinks that these facts and circumstances afford as 
 strong a guarantee as can be had in human affairs for the safety of the 
 public funds, and the practicability of a new system of collection and dis 
 bursement through the agency ofthe State Banks. 
 
 q. From all these considerations, the President thinks that, the State 
 Banks ought immediately to be employed in the collection and disburse 
 ment ofthe public revenue, and the funds now in the Bank ofthe United 
 States drawn out with all convenient dispatch. The safety of the public 
 monies, if deposited in the State Banks, must be secured beyond all rea 
 sonable doubts ; but the extent and nature ofthe security, in addition to 
 their capital, if any be deemed necessary, is a subject of detail to which 
 the Treasury Department will undoubtedly give its anxious attention. 
 The Banks to be employed must remit the monies of the Government 
 without charge, as the Bank ofthe United States now does ; must render 
 all the services which that Bank now performs ; must keep the Govern 
 ment advised of their situation by periodical returns ; in fine, with any 
 arrangement with the State Banks, the Government must not, in any 
 respect, be placed on a worse footing than it now is. The President is 
 happy to perceive by the report ofthe agent, that the banks which he has 
 consulted, have, in general, consented to perform the service on these 
 terms, and that those in New York have further agreed to make pay 
 ments in London without other charge than the mere cost of the bills of 
 exchange. 
 
 r. It should also be enjoined on any banks which may be employed, 
 that it will be expected of them to facilitate domestic exchanges for the 
 benefit of internal commerce : to grant all reasonable facilities to thi? 
 
VI.] WAR WITH THE BANK. 131 
 
 payers of the revenue ; to exercise the utmost liberality towards the 
 other State banks ; and to do nothing uselessly to embarrass the Bank of 
 the United States. 
 
 s. As one of the most serious objections to the Bank of the United 
 States is the power which it concentrates, care must be taken, in finding 
 other agents for the service of the Treasury, not to raise up another power 
 equally formidable. Although it would probably be impossible to 
 produce such a result by any organization of the State Banks which could 
 be devised, yet it is desirable to avoid even the appearance. To this end 
 it would be expedient to assume no more power over them, and interfere 
 no more in their affairs than might be absolutely necessary to the security 
 of the public deposits, and the faithful performance of their duties as 
 agents to the Treasury. Any interference by them in the political contests 
 of the country, with a view to influence elections, ought, in the opinion 
 of the President, to be followed by an immediate discharge from the 
 public service. 
 
 t. It is the desire of the President that the control of the banks and the 
 currency shall, as far as possible, be entirely separated from the political 
 power of the country, as well as wrested from an institution which has 
 already attempted to subject the Government to its will. In his opinion, the 
 action of the General Government on this subject ought not to extend 
 beyond the grant in the constitution, which only authorises Congress "to 
 coin money and regulate the value thereof ;" all else belongs to the States 
 and the people, and must be regulated by public opinion and the interests 
 of trade. 
 
 u. In conclusion, the President must be permitted to remark that he 
 looks upon the pending question as of higher consideration than the mere 
 transfer of a sum of money from one bank to another. Its decision may 
 affect the character of our Government for ages to come. Should the 
 Bank be suffered longer to use the public monies in the accomplishment 
 of its purposes, with the proofs of its faithlessness and corruption before 
 our eyes, the patriotic among our citizens will despair of success in 
 struggling against its power, and we shall be responsible for entailing it 
 upon our country for ever. Viewing it as a question of transcendent 
 importance, both in the principles and consequences it involves, the 
 President could not, injustice to the responsibility which he owes to the 
 country, refrain from pressing upon tho Secretary of the Treasury his 
 view of the considerations which impel to immediate action. Upon him 
 has been devolved, by. the constitution and the suffrages of the American 
 people, the duty of superintending the operation of the executive 
 departments of the Government, and seeing that the laws are faithfully 
 executed. 
 
 v. In the performance of this high trust it is his undoubted right to 
 express to those whom the laws and his own choice have made his 
 associates in the administration of the Government, his opinion of their 
 duties, under circumstances as they arise. It is this right which he now 
 exercises. Far be it from him to expect or require that any member of 
 the Cabinet should, athis request, order, or dictation, do any act which he 
 believes unlawful, or in his conscience condemns. From them, and from 
 his fellow-citizens in general, he desires only that aid and support which 
 their reason approves arid their conscience sanctions. 
 
 w. In the remarks he has made on this all-important question, lie trusts 
 the Secretary of the Treasury will see only the frank and respectful 
 declarations of the opinions which the President has formed on a measure 
 
132 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 of great national interest deeply affecting the character and usefulness of 
 his administration ; and not a spirit of dictation, which the President 
 would be as careful to avoid as ready to resist. Happy will he be if th* 
 facts now disclosed produce uniformity of opinion and unity of action 
 among the members of the administration. 
 
 x. The President again repeats, that he begs his Cabinet to consider 
 the proposed measure us his own, in the support of which he shall require 
 110 one of them to make a sacrifice of opinion or principle. Its responsi 
 bility has been assumed, after the most mature deliberation and reflection, 
 as necessary to preserve the morals of the people, the freedom of the 
 press, and the purity of the elective franchise, without which all will 
 unite in saying that the blood and treasure expended by our forefathers 
 in the establishment of our happy system of government, will have been 
 vain and fruitless. Under these convictions, he feels that a measure so 
 important to the American people cannot be commenced too soon, and ho 
 therefore names the 1. day of October next as a period proper for the 
 change of the deposits, or sooner, provided the necessary arrangements 
 with the State Banks can be made. 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 191. When the Congress met in November, 1833, he an 
 nounced to them his determination to pursue the course marked 
 out in this letter to his cabinet. Every one knew the effect that 
 that course must produce. The bank of the United States had 
 in circulation notes to the amount of nearly 70,428,070 dollars ; 
 for it had, as we see in the cabinet letter, extended its issues by 
 28 millions of dollars, in addition to what it had out before it 
 prepared for the struggle against the President. Before that, 
 it had out notes to the amount of 42,402,304 dollars. Between 
 January 1831 and May 1832, it put out an additional 28,025,776 
 dollars, though the bank had been apprized, that it was the 
 intention of the government to apply the deposits as fast as 
 possible to clear off the remainder of the public debt. This 
 additional 28,000,000 were applied to the hiring of newspapers 
 by the means of discounts ; to the bribing of needy men in 
 every direction ; and to the giving of extraordinary time for the 
 payment of the notes lent for ihis nefarious purpose. The parties 
 thus borrowing of the bank saw ruin staring them in the face, 
 if the charter were not renewed ; and this made them intrigue 
 and work in all sorts of ways, to prevent the re-election of the 
 President, because if he were re-elected the charter would not 
 be renewed. If, however, the President were elected, perilous 
 indeed was the state of the bank ; for, with its immense issues,. 
 it would be utterly unable to give up the deposits to enable the 
 nation to pay off its debt. By a reference to paragraphs r, s r 
 t, and u, of the letter, the reader will see the nature of the 
 nefarious transactions which the bank resorted to in conjunc- 
 
VI.] WAR WITH THE BANK. 133 
 
 lion with its allies in England ; and he will see how necessary 
 it was, even for the support of the independence of the country, 
 that a man like this should be placed at the head of its affairs. 
 
 192. It will be easily imagined, that the re-election of the 
 president (in the fall of 1832), which, let it be observed, ex 
 pressed decidedly the opinion of the people in support of his 
 views as to the bank ; it will be easily imagined what confusion 
 this must have created in the camp of the paper-money makers. 
 That confusion extended itself into every part of the union 
 instantly; for that system of having " branch banks," which 
 has been imitated by our big bank in England, had placed the 
 whole country under the command of the big bank in America. 
 The strife at the election was prodigious ; but the industrious 
 part of the community, long oppressed by the crafty robbery of 
 the banks, had the sense to perceive, that to be delivered from 
 this worst of tyranny they must stand by the President ; they 
 had the virtue to stand by him, and their efforts were crowned 
 with success. 
 
 193. At the time appointed by himself he removed the depo 
 sits from the bank ; that is to say, in the month of October, 
 1833 ; the bank was compelled to draw in its issues ; compelled 
 to withhold its discounts ; its branches were compelled to do 
 the same ; and the consequence has been, bankruptcies all over 
 the country ; a tremendous bursting of the bubble, a return, 
 in great part already, to hard money; a sweeping away of 
 banks, bankers, and clerks ; a cessation of the robbery of the 
 industrious, and of sustaining innumerable idlers upon the fruit 
 of their toil. Our intelligence comes down to the 16th of 
 February, 1834, at which time numerous deputations and dele 
 gations of merchants, of manufacturers, of master mechanics, 
 had been to the president to supplicate a relaxation of his deter 
 mination and proceedings. To all he has given the uniform 
 answer : that the happiness of his country, the preservation of 
 its constitution and its liberties, its independence of foreign 
 nations, command him to persevere ; and that to persevere he 
 is determined, and that nothing upon earth shall make him 
 alter that determination. 
 
 194. In England it was said, and generally believed, from 
 the month of November last until very recently (March, 1834), 
 that he would be induced or compelled to yield. Knowing the 
 monster with which he had to contend, I myself had fears upon 
 the subject ; but I had not then read that account of his life 
 which I now have read ; and an abridgment and remoulding of 
 which I now submit to my own countrymen. If I had read 
 
134 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap. 
 
 that life before, I should have had no fear at all ; and by whom 
 soever that life shall be read, not a. shadow of doubt can be 
 entertained that the president will 'never cease his efforts till he 
 has totally suppressed that fraudulent, that robbing-, that, ac 
 cursed paper-money, which has steeped England in her present 
 troubles, and her more than half revolution, and which would 
 in a short time, in a very few years, have compelled the United 
 States to resort to another revolution, or to have abandoned 
 and levelled with the earth every institution and every law which 
 have been made for the purpose of preserving the independence 
 and the liberties of the country. 
 
 PERSON AND CHARACTER OF THE PRESIDENT. 
 
 195. We are naturally curious to know something about the 
 mere person of a man who has performed such wonderful ex 
 ploits. Philosophers may say what they will about the man 
 consisting solely of the mind. Human nature will not have it 
 so. It will, in spite of philosophers, give a good deal of weight 
 to the person by whom a thing is done. Jackson has this advan 
 tage also. His friend and brother senator, and neighbour, 
 Mr. Eaton, tells us, that he has nothing of the robust or the 
 elegant ; that he is six feet and an inch high ; that he is remark 
 ably straight and spare ; that he weighs not more than a hun 
 dred and forty-five pounds (what a poor thing compared to our 
 George the Fourth !) ; that his conformation appears to disqua 
 lify him for hardship ; that, however, accustomed to it from 
 early life, few are capable of enduring so much fatigue, or with 
 so little injury ; that his dark-blue eyes, beneath his high and 
 broad forehead, and loaded with brows somewhat heavy, when 
 excited by any cause, sparkle with peculiar lustre of penetra 
 tion ; that in his manners he is pleasing, while his address is 
 commanding ; that in his deportment he is easy, affable and 
 familiar ; that during his whole life it has been his study to 
 honour merit, find it in whom he might ; that honest poverty 
 has always been respected by him, while he has turned his back 
 on dishonest wealth ; that he was never known to discover the 
 existence of distress without seeking to assist and to relieve it ; 
 that no man ever saw him irritated on account of a selfish pur 
 pose; and that no man ever saw his bosom swell with rage or 
 with anger, except against the enemies of his country, open or 
 secret. 
 
 196. The portrait, which is prefixed to the head of this work, 
 gives us, I dare say, a pretty accurate description of the person 
 
VI.] POSTSCRIPT. 135 
 
 of this celebrated man ; and that the person itself may exist 
 until he has delivered his country from the monster which has 
 so long 1 been tearing it to pieces, is the present prayer of 
 
 WM. COBBETT. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 197. I thought I had, in the dedication or the preface, done 
 justice to the Irish people, relative to the deeds of this famous man, 
 who sprang- from amongst them. But, having- since looked into 
 the peerage of Packenham, and finding what he was ; what 
 honours had been heaped upon him, who died in the midst of 
 disgrace unparalleled : for, all the disgrace was his, as all the 
 honour would have been his. The valour that takes a man up 
 to an intrenchment, or makes him the first to enter a breach, 
 is of a character not a thousandth part equal to that of a bull 
 dog. Many hundreds of his soldiers went nearer to the mouths 
 of the American muskets than he did : it is the valour which 
 discovers itself in cool moments and day-after-day reflections, 
 and comes, at last, to conclusions, such as are in so many, 
 many instances, recorded of this famous American General. 
 My readers have seen with what delight I have recorded the 
 triumphs of this man. First, for his own sake ; secondly, be 
 cause he is descended immediately from poor Irish parents ; 
 thirdly, because he was so basely and infamously treated by 
 British officers, at the early part of the American revolu 
 tionary war ; but above all things, because he sprang immedi 
 ately from poor Irish parents. The circumstances stated by me 
 relative to this matter are very striking ; but, until I saw the 
 peerage of the antagonist whom he laid sprawling upon the 
 ground ; until I saw this peerage ; this bragging, this boasting 
 peerage, I had not the means of making the contrast so striking 
 as it ought to have been made. Let us take him, then, as he is 
 described by the heralds of his family, copied from the peerage 
 itself. It is a thing for eternal laughter ; a thing which every 
 democrat should have about him, and when he has read it, he 
 will not forget to exclaim : All this was smashed to pieces in a 
 moment by the son of poor Irish emigrant parents, the mother 
 of whom had urged this son to avenge the cause of Ireland. 
 
 198. I will now insert from the peerage, and when I have 
 done that, I shall have some remarks to add ; 
 
13(T LIFE OF JACKSON, [Chap." 
 
 199. " William de Pahenham was resident at Pakenham, co. 
 " Suffolk, temp. Edward I. ; his eldest son, Sir Edmund Paken- 
 " ham, m., tempi. Edward II., Rose, daughter and co-heir of 
 " Robert de Valines, from whom descended Sir Hugh Paken- 
 " ham, who d. temp. Henry VII., leaving issue, 1. Sir John 
 " Pakenham, whose only daughter and sole heir, Constance, 
 " carried the estate of Lordington, co. Sussex, to her husband 
 " Sir Geoffry de la Pole, knight, second son of Sir Richard de 
 " la Pole, K.G., by Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salis- 
 " bury, only daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, brother to 
 " Edward IV. ; 2. Nicholas, ancestor of the Earls of Long- 
 "ford\ 3. Anne, m. Sir William Sydney, knight banneret, by 
 " whom she was mother of Sir Henry Sydney, K.G., lord 
 " deputy of Ireland. Sir Edward Pakenham, knt., grandson of 
 " Nicholas, accompanied his cousin, Sir Henry Sydney, to Ire- 
 ' land, 1576, whose grandson, Henry Pakenham, was seated at 
 " Pakenham Hall, co. Westmeath, temp. Charles II., and was 
 " father of Sir Thomas Pakenham, knt., of Pakenham Hall, 
 "prime serjeant at law, 1695, whose son and heir, Edward 
 " Pakenham, of Pakenham Hall, knight of the shire co. West- 
 " meath, 1713, was father of 
 
 200. " Thomas Pakenham, 1st lord, 1. May 1713, m., March 
 " 5, 1739, Elizabeth, sole heiress of Michael Cuffe, esq., nephew 
 " and heir of Ambrose Aungier, last earl of Longford, and in 
 " right of his wife was created, 1756, baron of Longford, and 
 " had issue by her (who was created July 5, 1785, countess of 
 " Longford), 1. Edward-Michael, 2nd lord; 2. Robert, in the 
 " army, who d. unm., 1775; 3. William, d. young ; 4. Thomas, 
 " b. 1757, an admiral of the white, m. 1785, Louisa, daughter 
 " of the right hon. John Staples, and has issue six sons and four 
 ''daughters; 5. Elizabeth, b. 1742; 6. Frances, >. June 
 " 1776, John Ormsby Vandeleur, esq., and d. 1779, leaving 
 " issue, 7. Helena, m. June 1768, William Sherlock, of Sher- 
 " locks- town, esq., and d. 1774, leaving issue by him (who 
 " d. 1788), Mary, m. 1770, Thomas Fortescue, esq., and d. 
 " 1775, leaving issue. His lordship d. April 20, 1776, and 
 " was succeeded by his son, 
 
 201. " Edward- Michael, 2nd lord, b. April 1, 1743, m., June 
 " 25, 1768, Catharine 2nd daughter of the right hon. Hercules- 
 " Longford Rowley, by Elizabeth, viscountess Longford, and 
 " by her, (who d. March 12, 1816) had issue, 1. Thomas, 
 "present earl; 2. Sir Edward Michael, G. C. B., major- 
 " general in the army, and colonel 6th West India regiment, 
 " who, Nov. 8, 1813, received the unanimous thanks of both 
 
VI.] POSTSCRIPT. 13-7 
 
 " Houses of Parliament, for the valour, steadiness, and exertion, 
 " so successfully displayed by him, in repelling the repeated 
 " attacks made on the positions of the allied army by the whole 
 " of the French force under the command of Marshal Soult, 
 " between the 25th of July, and 1st of August : b. March 19, 
 *' 1778, killed in action near New Orleans, in America, Jan. 8, 
 " 1815, to whose memory a monument is erected in the cathe- 
 *' dral of St. Paul, at the public expense ; 3. Hercules-Robert, 
 " C. B., 6. Sept. 29, 1781, lieut.-colonel in the army, severely 
 " wounded at Badajos, 1812, m. Dec. 1817, Emily Stapleton, 
 " daughter of Thomas, Lord Le Despencer; 4. William, 6. Sept. 
 "20, 1782, captain R. N. who was unfortunately drowned in 
 " his majesty's frigate Saldana, near Lough Swilly, Ireland, Dec. 
 "4, 1811; S.Henry, in holy orders, b. Aug/23, 1787; 6. 
 " Elizabeth, b. Sept. 1769, m. Henry Stewart, esq. ; 7. Mary 
 " d. 1787 ; 8. Catharine m., April 10, 1806, field-marshal Ar- 
 " thur, Duke of Wellington, K. G., K. T. S., and K. F., brother 
 " to Richard, Marquis of Wellesley, K. G., K. C., and K. L. S. 
 " (See Duke of Wellington, in the Peerage of England, and 
 " Marquis of Wellesley, in the Peerage of Ireland} ; 9. Helen ; 
 " 10. Caroline-Penelope. His lordship d. June 3, 1792, when 
 " his son, 
 
 202. " Thomas succeeded to the barony, and on the death of 
 " his grandmother, Jan. 1794, he succeeded to the earldom, 
 *' and is the present peer. 
 
 203. " Heir-apparent Lord Pakenham, the earl's only son. 
 204. f< Creations Baron Pakenham, 1756; Earl, June 20, 1785. 
 
 205. " Motto Gloria virtutis umbra Glory is the shadow 
 " of virtue." 
 
 206. Here is a pretty story : here is a rigmarole : this is the sort 
 of way in which the base part of mankind are held in subjection. 
 Here is as great a piece of work in recording the lineage of this 
 gang of people, as if each individual of them had performed 
 exploits equal to those of Jackson. Why, it must give one 
 pleasure ; it must fill one with delight, to see such contemptible 
 rubbish brought to the test, and to be proved to be not worth a 
 straw. We see here that our particular hero had received the 
 unanimous thanks of the House of Commons. And for what 
 was it ? For his valour, &c. in repelling repeated attacks made 
 on the positions of the allied army. This is a very unsatisfac 
 tory description. Here is no deed done ; no strong place cap 
 tured ; no army beaten, but merely attacks repelled. Very 
 doubtful words ; and a pretty House of Commons it must have 
 been, to have voted its unanimous thanks to a man upon grounds 
 
138 LIFE OF JACKSON, [Chap. 
 
 so very equivocal; and, indeed, who does not perceive that if 
 he had been the son of a common man he would have had no 
 thanks at all ? Yes, yes : the " French force :" he could do 
 very well with the French force ; but it was another matter 
 when he came to do with an American force, though it was 
 only about a seventh part of his own. 
 
 207. Mark, too, the curious way in which his death is men 
 tioned ; " Killed in action, near New Orleans, in America, Janu 
 ary 8th, 1815, to whose memory a monument is erected in the 
 cathedral of St. Paul, at the public expense." Now observe, first, 
 that you do not know whether he was commander or not ; 
 second, whether those on his side were the victors or not; 
 third, whether it was a battle fought for the purpose of taking 
 New Orleans or for defending it, or whether it was for any 
 other object : but taking into view the fact immediately follow 
 ing, that he had a monument erected immediately to his me 
 mory in St. Paul's, at the public expense ; and is there one 
 single man in this world, who, being unacquainted with the facts, 
 would not believe that he lost his life in the arms of victory in 
 a battle which happened to take place near the city of New Or 
 leans, in America. Thus it is that the people of England have 
 been basely betrayed and insulted and cheated. Not one man 
 in ten thousand, or in fifty thousand, knows to this day that 
 this Packenham was selected for this enterprise ; that the army 
 and the navy were all ready, long before his arrival ; that they 
 waited for that arrival to begin operations ; that the force was 
 so great, the supplies so large ; so superabundant in every re 
 spect; an outfit costing more than a million of money, and this 
 for the double object of carrying the city, and of puffing Packen 
 ham into a lord. And what did he do when he got there ? The 
 very things that Jackson wanted him to do ; and, at last, after 
 having given Jackson one specimen of his ability at assaulting, 
 he really put all to the hazard of an assault ; but, curious to re 
 late, not one hour before Jackson was perfectly ready for him. 
 He had intelligence constantly from the city : he knew precisely 
 the situation of Jackson : he knew that his whole force, his 
 whole alliance was but about three thousand men, armed with 
 muskets and rifles. He was duly apprized that these men were 
 stationed behind a parapet of bags of cotton and of barrels of 
 sugar and of flour, but particularly the former : he could see 
 with his glasses the cotton-bales, as plainly as I can see this 
 paper : he knew that rifles were behind them ; and he had the 
 stupidity to believe that the Yankees would run away at the ap- 
 
 nrnrrfi nf liia o-littprincr armv anH Ipnvp that armv to VailU OVfir 
 
VI.] POSTSCRIPT. 139 
 
 the cotton-bags. Common sense dictated to him to erect 
 batteries, and to tear away at the parapet ; to annoy, to fatigue, 
 to exhaust ; to take the chances of successful rebellion against 
 Jackson ; at any rate there was one thing which was down-right 
 madness, and that was what he did. To march up in columns, 
 close to the cotton-bags, carry scaling ladders to climb up 
 with, and to imagine that he was in the face of those Yankees 
 thus going to get over those cotton-bags. Every man of common- 
 sense must have known, that certain death would come pouring 
 over those cotton-bags. When the columns approached, all 
 was still on Jackson's side of the cotton-bags : not a shot was 
 fired : not the smallest demonstration of resistance shown : the 
 columns marched up to within a few yards of the edge of the ditch: 
 then came the bullets : then came the buck-shot: then came 
 the destructive contents of the rifles ; and the plain was instantly 
 covered with the dead. Jackson had more men than he had 
 rifles and muskets. Those who had no arms loaded for those 
 who had arms ; so that the fire was one incessant volley ; and 
 out of the four generals, the chief fell dead, and two others were 
 dangerously wounded. I dare say that the moment Jackson 
 saw those columns marching over the plain to come up to his 
 parapet, that he felt as sure of the result as he did after it had 
 taken place, This was a something to make the nation pay for 
 a monument for this man, and in St. Paul's too. But it is no 
 matter : if a commander belongs to any of these people, beaten 
 or not beaten, so that he die, he is sure to have a monument to 
 his memory at the people's expense, in order to keep up the 
 blaze of these families. It was well for this poor fellow that 
 he was killed : if he could have made shift to hobble off with his 
 beating, I have no question that he would have had the thanks 
 of the House of Commons, as I believe Cockburn had, for his 
 work on the coast of Virginia. 
 
 208. Burke called nobility " the cheap defence of nations." 
 Look at our half-pay list; look at our pension list; look at the 
 retired allowance list; look at this very family of Packenham. 
 We find that this man had nine brothers and sisters; one a lieu 
 tenant-colonel in the army ; one a captain in the navy ; one in 
 the church : so far for the men ; and as to the women, I could 
 be bound to find them all out if I had time ; but we know that 
 one of them was the wife of Wellington. A pretty dearish de 
 fence of nations, I should think, all this. But, not to waste any 
 more words upon the subject, here we have all this swaggering 
 nobility, this hunting down from " William de Pahenham," in 
 
140 LIFE OF JACKSON. [Chap, 
 
 the time of Edward the First to the present time ; and only 
 think of their publishing their mottoes : " Gloria virtutis um 
 bra," that is to say, " Glory is the shadow of virtue" ; a saying 
 which we can hardly understand the meaning of ; but the more 
 senseless, the more it excites the cogitating wonderment of 
 stupid and base people. When a public robber gets into a car 
 riage with three or four Latin words written on it, and with the 
 other insignia which he chooses to have put, all the base part of 
 the people, and that is not a small part, look upon him as some 
 thing or other a wonderful deal better than themselves. Now, 
 unless this feeling be changed : unless the people be cured of 
 this baseness, nothing that can be done by men, even the most 
 able and industrious and zealous, will ever render them better 
 off than they now are. However, that which I have here exhi 
 bited, will do real good in America; it will make the people 
 there resolve to guard against all the crafty and subtle approaches 
 of aristocracy, which has always been begun by suffering wealth 
 to be drawn into a small number of hands. When once that is 
 done, then the titling work begins ; and then come all the curses 
 under which we are now labouring. I shall be told that I have 
 always been an advocate for a government of king, lords, and 
 commons, and for bishops seated amongst the lords. Now, this 
 is very true ; and my argument always has been that those things 
 could not be bad in their nature, along with which co-existed 
 such wise and just laws; so much freedom, so much power, 
 possessed by so comparatively small a country ; and such an im 
 mense mass of national resources of all sorts, together with a 
 degree of reputation for integrity, frankness and all public virtue, 
 never surpassed by any other nation, and, indeed, never any 
 thing like equalled. 
 
 209. Well, then, ought you not to cherish these,orders now ? 
 Are they not what they always were ? Have we not still dukes, 
 
 marquises, earls, just as in the time of ? . Stop : 
 
 yes, my friend, we have dukes, marquises, earls, and so forth 
 still ; but those that we have now are no more like those in 
 former times, than a French crab is like a Newtown pippin ; or 
 than a Catherine peach (many degrees baser than a white tur 
 nip) is like a French mignon or an early Montanlan. A peach 
 is a peach ; and as words, mere words, are quite sufficient for 
 the more numerous and baser part of mankind, to keep the 
 word is all that has been thought necessary. 
 
 210. Well, but in what do the present lords differ from the 
 lords of former times ? In every thing; except in the shape of 
 
VI.] POSTSCRIPT. HI 
 
 their bodies, and the manner of receiving- their nutriment, 
 though even in this latter I do not know that I am not admit 
 ting- too much. The people of England, when called out in the 
 wars, and especially in defence of their country, were conU 
 manded by the lords ; and observe, the lords found them their 
 arms, and their clothing 1 , and their provisions, and their money 
 for the service, out of their own pockets and estates. It was 
 the business of the lords, each one to protect his people from 
 wrong; to see that they had fair play ; they were their advo 
 cates in courts of justice ; pleading their causes in their per 
 sons, and always for nothing. There was no such thing as a 
 tax for a poor or working man to pay, nor ever heard of to pay, 
 of any sort or kind. The bishops and abbots were in parlia 
 ment to take care that the poor were not plundered of their 
 patrimony ; and thus it was that nobility was " the cheap defence 
 of nations." 
 
 211. What do we behold now? Every great family, as it is 
 called, not paying for warriors to come forth to defend the 
 country ; but making the people pay them, men, wqmen, and 
 children, to the amount of thousands, and thousands upon thou 
 sands ! In short, it is a prodigious band of spungers, living- 
 upon the labour of the industrious part of the community, and 
 making the people pay them, and men that they enlist ; the 
 object of having such men in pay and armed with bayonets, 
 can be hidden from nobody in this world but an idiot : a nobi 
 lity, not paying the people to come out, and furnishing them 
 with arms and ammunition, and clothing them, to defend the 
 country ; but a nobility, actually living upon the sweat of the 
 people, and passing laws at the same time, to transport the 
 very same people, if caught in pursuit of pheasant, partridge, 
 or hare ! While (oh, gracious God !) these same people, still 
 calling themselves nobility, are breeding those wild animals for 
 the purpose of feeding the wretches in London whom they sup 
 port in the demanding and the receiving of the fruit of three 
 days' work instead of one ! 
 
 212. However, either the people of England see all this, or 
 they do not : if the latter, they are too blind to have the cha 
 racter of humanity imputed to them ; they are absolutely brutes; 
 for brutes any treatment is good enough, so that it does not 
 lacerate, starve, or knock on the head. If the people of England 
 do see it in its true light ; and yet, if they think nothing of 
 these things, compared with corn-bill nonsense, or HEDDEKA- 
 SHUN ; if this be their taste ; if they throw away the substance 
 
142 tIFE OF JACKSON. 
 
 to amuse themselves with the shadow, and will elect Captain 
 Swallow- Pension and reject a man that scorns to deceive them ; 
 then let them suffer ; and my consolation is, that / will not 
 suffer along with them ! 
 
 WM. COBBETT. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Printed by Mills, Jowett, and Mills, 
 Bolt-court, Fleet-street, 
 
N. B. All the Books undermentioned) are published at 
 No. 11, Bolt-court, Fleet-street, London; and are 
 to be had of all the Booksellers in the Kingdom. 
 
 THE 
 
 WHEN I am asked what books a young man or young 
 woman ought to read, I always answer, Let him or her 
 Tead all the books that I have written. This does, it will 
 doubtless be said, smell of the shop. No matter. It is 
 what I recommended ; and experience has taught me that 
 it is my duty to give the recommendation. I am speaking 
 here of books other than THE REGISTER; and even 
 these, that I call my LIBRARY, consist of twenty-nine 
 distinct books; two of them being TRANSLATIONS ; six of 
 them being written r,v MY SONS; one (TuLi/s HUS 
 BANDRY) revised and edited, and one published by me, and 
 written by the Rev. Mr. O'CALLAGHAN, a most virtuous 
 Catholic Priest. I divide these books into classes, as fol 
 lows: 1. Booksfor TEACHING LANGUAGE; 2. On DO 
 MESTIC MANAGEMENT AND DUTIES; 3. On RURAL 
 AFFAIRS: 4. On THE MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL 
 AFFAIRS; 5. HISTORY; 6. TRAVELS; 7. LAM'S; 8. 
 MISCELLANEOUS POLITICS. Here is a great variety of 
 uubjects ; and all of them very dry : nevertheless the manner 
 of treating them is, in general, such as to induce the 
 reader to go throuqh the book, when he has once begun it. 
 
LIST OF MR. COBBETT'S BOOKS. 
 
 I will now speak of each book separately under the several 
 heads above-mentioned. N. B. All the books are bound in 
 boards, which will be borne in mind when the price is 
 looked at. 
 
 1. BOOKS FOR TEACHING KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 EIXG&XSH SPELLING-BOOK. 
 
 I have been frequently asked by mothers of families, by some 
 fathers, and by some schoolmasters even, to write a book that 
 they could begin teaching hy ^ one that should begin at the begin 
 ning of book learning, and smooth the way along to my owa 
 English Grammar, which is the entrance-gate. J often promised 
 to comply with these requests, and, from time to time ? in the in 
 tervals of political heats, i have thought of the thing, till, at last, 
 I found time enough to sit down and put it upon paper. The ob 
 jection to the common spelling-books is, .that the writers aim at 
 teaching several important sciences in a little book in which the 
 whole aim should be the teaching of spelling and reading. We 
 are presented with a little ARITHMETIC , a little ASTRONOMY, a 
 little GEOGRAPHY, and a good deal of RELIGION ! No wonder the 
 poor little things imbibe a hatred of looks in the first that they 
 look into ! Disapproving heartily of these books, I have car'e- 
 ; fully abstained from every-thing beyond the object in view; namely, 
 the teaching of a child to spell and read ; and this work 1 ha.ye 
 made as pleasant as I could, by introducing such stories as children 
 inost delight in, accompanied by those little wood-cut illustrations 
 which amuse them. At the end of the book there is a " Stepping^ 
 stone to the English Grammar" It is but a step ; it is designed 
 l;o teach a child the different parts of speech, and the use of pointi, 
 . with one or two small matters of the kind. The book is in the 
 'duodecimo form, contains 176 pages of print, and the price is 2i. 
 
 ENGLISH GXt.LI&Z..XU 
 
 COBBETT'S ENGLISH GRAMMAR. (Price .3*.) This work 
 is in a series of letters addressed to my son James, when he was 
 14 years old. I made him copy the whole of it before it went to 
 press ; and that made him a grammarian at once; and how able 
 a one it made him v, ill be seen bv his own Grammar of the ITA- 
 .LIAN LANGUAGE, his RIDE IN FRANCE, and his TOUR IN ITALY. 
 There are at the end of this Grammar " Six Lessons intended tp 
 'prevent Statesmen from using false grammar : " and I really wish 
 that our statesmen would attend to the instructions of the whole 
 book. Thousands upon thousands of young men have been macje 
 correct writers by it ; and, it is next to impossible that they should 
 have read with attention without its producing such effect. It is a 
 book of principles, clearly laid down ; and when once these are 
 got into the mind they never quit it. More than 100,000 of this 
 work have been sold. 
 
LIST OF MR. COBBETT'S BOOKS. 
 
 FRENCH GHAMTCAXU 
 
 .COBBETT'S FRENCH GRAMMAR (Price 5*.) ; or, Plain 
 Instructions for the Learning of French. This book has had, and 
 has, a very great effect in the producing of its object. More young 
 men have, 1 dare say, learned French from it, than from all the 
 other books that have been published in English for the last fifty 
 years. It is, like the former, a book of principles, clearly laid 
 down. I had this great advantage, too, that I had learnt French 
 without a master. 1 had. grubbed it out, bit by bit, and knew well 
 how to remove all the difficulties ; 1 remembered what it was that 
 had puzzled and retarded me ; and I have taken care, in this my 
 Grammar, to prevent the reader from experiencing that which, in 
 this respect, I experienced myself. This Grammar, as well as the 
 former, is kept out of schools, owing to the fear that the masters 
 and mistresses have of being looked upon as COBBETTITES. So 
 much fhe worse for the children of the stupid brutes who are the 
 cause of this fear, which sensible people laugh at, and avail them 
 selves of the advantages tendered to them in the books. Teaching 1 
 French in English Schools is, generally, a mere delusion ; and as 
 to teaching the pronunciation by rules, it is the grossest of all 
 human absurdities. My knowledge of French was so complete 
 thirty-seven years ago, that the very first thing in the shape of a 
 bqok that I wrote for the press, was a Grammar to teach French 
 men English ; and of course it was written in French. I must 
 know all about these two languages ; and must be able to give 
 advice to young people on the subject : their time is precious ; and 
 I .advise them not to waste it upon what ure called lessons from 
 masters and mistresses. To learn the pronunciation, there is no 
 way but that of hearing those, and speaking with those, who 
 speak the language well. My Grammar will do the rest. 
 
 EXERCISES, 
 
 EXERCISES TO COBBETT'S FRENCH GRAMMAR (Price 
 2s.) is just published. It is an accompaniment to the French 
 Grammar, and is necessary to the learner who has been diligent 
 iq his. reading of the Grammar. By JAMES CODBETT. 
 
 ITALIAN CUtAMMAH, 
 
 MR. JAMES COBBETT'S ITALIAN GRAMMAR (Price 6V.) ; 
 or, a Plain and Compendious Introduction to the Study of Italian. 
 This was the boy who, at fourteen, began his book-learning by 
 copying my English Grammar for the press. It not only taught 
 him grammar, but gave him a taste for study, which, indeed, is the ' 
 tendency of all my books ; because the vivacity which they always 
 exhibit, however dry the subject, not only entices the reader along, 
 bat animates him with the desire to be able to imitate that which 
 he cannot help being pleased with. I do not understand Italian;' 
 but' I understand the English, in which the principles, rules, and 
 definitions, are expressed j and I am proud, beyond measure, of 
 
LIST OF MR. COBBETT'S BOOKS. 
 
 being the father of the able and persevering author. Let any 
 scholar compare this book with the other heaps of confused stuff 
 called Italian Grammars : that is all that is necessary. If I had 
 nothing: else to do, [ would pledge myself to take this book and to 
 learn Italian from it \\\ three months. Then, the author made the 
 whole tour of Italy, was in the country nearly a year, can speak 
 the language as well as write it ; and has had, in the performance 
 of his task, industry and perseverance quite astonishing. 
 
 FXtEKTCK AW2> X2X&Z.ZSH DXCTXOHTA21.Y. 
 
 COBBETT'S FRENCH AND ENGLISH DICTIONARY. 
 This book is now published. Its price is 125. in boards ; and it 
 is a thick octavo volume. 
 
 CSO&XtA9HICAZi DZCTZOZTAXfr OF ENGIATSTO 
 AUTO WAX.ES. 
 
 This book was suggested to me by my own frequent want of 
 the information which it contains ; a suggestion which, if every 
 compiler did but wait to feel before he puts his shears to work, 
 v/ould spare the world many a voluminous and useless book. I am 
 constantly receiving letters out of the country, the writers living ia 
 obscure places, but who seldom think of giving more than the name 
 of the place that they write from ; and thus have I been often puzzled 
 to death to find out even the county in which it is, before 1 could re 
 turn an answer. I one day determined, therefore, for my own con 
 venience, to have a list made out of every parish in the kingdom ; 
 but this being done, I found that I had still townships and hamlets 
 to add in order to make my list complete ; and when I had got the 
 vrork only half done, I found it a book ; and that, with the addition 
 of bearing, and population, and distance from the next market- 
 town, or if a market-town, from London, it would be a really use 
 ful Geographical Dictionary. It is a work which the learned would 
 call sui generis; it prompted itself into life, and it has grown ia 
 rrty hands ; but 1 will here insert the whole of the title-page, for 
 that contains a full description of the book. It is a thick octavo 
 volume, price 12s. 
 
 " A GEOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF ENGLAND AND 
 " WALES ; containing thenames, in Alphabetical Order, of all the 
 Counties, with their several Subdivisions into Hundreds, Lathes, 
 Rapes, Wapentakes, Wards, or Divisions; and an Account of 
 the Distribution of the Counties into Circuits, Dioceses, and 
 Parliamentary Divisions. Also, the names (under that of each 
 County respectively), in Alphabetical Order, of all the Cities, 
 " Boroughs, Market Towns, Villages, Hamlets, and Tithings, with 
 " the Distance of each from London, or from the nearest Market 
 " Town, and with the Population, and other interesting particulars 
 " relating to each ; besides which there are MAPS ; first, one of the 
 " whole country, showing the local situation of the Counties rela- 
 " lively to each other ; and, then, each County is also preceded by 
 (% a Map, showing, in the same manner, the local situation of the 
 Cities, Boroughs, and Market Towns. FOUR TABLES are 
 
LIST OF MR. COBBETT'S BOOKS. 5) 
 
 " added ; first, a Statistical Table of all the Counties ; and then 
 " three Tables, showing the new Divisions and Distributions en- 
 " acted by the Reform-Law of 4th June, 1832." 
 
 2. BOOKS ON DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT AND 
 DUTIES. 
 
 COTTAGE ECONOBCY. 
 
 COBBETT'S COTTAGE ECONOMY (Price Is. Gel] ; con 
 taining information relative to the brewing of Beer, making of 
 Bread, keeping of Cows, Pigs, Bees, Ewes, Goats, Poultry, and 
 Rabbits, and relative to other matters deemed useful in the con 
 ducting of the Alfairs of a Labourer's Family; lo which are added, 
 instructions relative to the selecting, the cutting and the bleaching 
 of the Plants of English Grass and Grain, for the purpose of mak 
 ing Hats and Bonnets ; and also Instructions for erecting and using 
 ice-houses, after the Virginian manner. In my own estimation, the 
 book that stands first is POOR MAN'S FRIEND; and the one that 
 stands next is this COTTAGE ECONOMY ; and beyond all description 
 is the pleasure I derive from reflecting on the number of happy 
 families that this little book must have made. I dined in company 
 with a lady in Worcestershire, who desiredto see me on account of 
 this book ; and she told me that until she read it, she knew nothing 
 at all about these two great matters, the making of bread and of 
 leer ; but that from the moment she read the book, she began to 
 teach her servants, and that the benefits were very great. But, to 
 the labouring people, there are the arguments in favour of good 
 conduct, sobriety, frugality, industry, all the domestic virtues ; here 
 are the reasons for all these ; and it must be a real devil in human 
 shape, who does not applaud the man who could sit down to write 
 this book, a copy of which every parson ought, upon pain of loss of 
 ears, to present to every girl that he marries, rich or poor. 
 
 ADVICS TO ITOUKTG. M3TT, 
 
 COBBETT'S ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN, and (incidentally) 
 to Young PPomen, in the middle and higher Ranks of J^ife (Price 5s.) 
 It was published in 11 numbers, and is now in one vol. complete. 
 
 SERMONS. 
 
 COBBETTS SERMONS (Price 3*. 6W.) There are 13 of them 
 on the following subjects : I. Hypocrisy and Cruelty ; 2. Drunk* ' 
 enness; 3. Bribery; 4. The Rights of the Poor ; 5. Unjust Judges ; 
 6. The Sluggard ; 7. Murder ; 8. Gaming ; 9. Public Robbery ; 
 10.' The unnatural Mother; 11. Forbidding Marriage; 12. Parsons 
 and Tithes ; 13. Good Friday ; or, God's Judgment on the Jews. 
 More of these Sermons have been sold than of the Sermons of 
 all the Church-parsons put together since mine were published. 
 There are some parsons who have the good sense and the virtue to 
 them from the pulpit. 1 
 
 A3 
 
LIST OF MR, COBBETT'S BOOKS. 
 
 3. BOOKS ON RURAL AFFAIRS. 
 
 HUSBANDRY. 
 
 COBBETT'S EDITION OF TULL'S HUSBANDRY (Pi-ice 
 15*.): THE HORSE-HOEING HUSBANDRY; or, A TREA 
 TISE on the Principles of TILLAGE and VEGETATION, wherein is 
 taught a Method of introducing a sort of VINEYARD CULTURE into 
 the CORN -FIELDS, in order to increase their Product and diminish 
 the common Expense. By JETHRO TULL, of Shalborne, in the 
 county of Berks. To which is prefixed, An INTRODUCTION, expla 
 natory of some Circumstances connected with the History and Di 
 vision of the Work ; and containing an Account of certain Experi 
 ments of recent date, by WILLIAM COBBETT. From this famous 
 book I learned all my principles relative to farming, gardening, 
 and planting. It really, without a pun, goes to the root of the sub 
 ject. Before I read this book I had seen enough of effects, but 
 really knew nothing about the causes. It contains the foundation 
 of all knowledge in the cultivation of the earth. 
 
 YEAR'S RESIDENCE IKT AMERICA. 
 
 COBBETT'S YEAR'S RESIDENCE IN AMERICA, WITH 
 A MAP (Price 5.) ; treating of the Face of the Country, the 
 Climate, the Soil, the Products, the Mode of Cultivating the Land, 
 the Prices of Laud, of Labour, of Food, of Raiment; of the Ex 
 penses of Housekeeping, and of the usual Manner of Living; of 
 the Manners and Customs of the People ; and of the Institutions of 
 the Country, Civil, Political, and Religious; in three Parts. The 
 map is a map of the United States. The book contains a Journal 
 of the Weather for one U'hole year ; and it has an account of my 
 farming in that country ; and also an account of the causes of poor 
 Hirkbec It's failure in his undertaking. A book very necessary to 
 all men of property who emigrate to the United States. 
 
 THE ENGLISH GARDENER. 
 
 COBBETT'S ENGLISH GARDENER (PriceSs.} ; or A TREA 
 TISE on the Situation, Soil, Enclosing and Laying-out of Kitcheo- 
 Gardens ; on the Making and Managing of Hot-Beds and Green- 
 Houses ; and on the Propagation and Cultivation of all sorts of 
 Kitchen-Garden Plants, arid of Fruit-Trees, whether of the Garden 
 or the Orchard. And also on the Formation of Shrubberies and 
 Flower-Gardens ; and on the Propagation and Cultivation of the 
 several sorts of Shrubs and Flowers; concluding with a KALF.N- 
 DAR, giving Instructions relative to the Sowings, Plantings, Prun- 
 ings, and other labours, to be performed in the Gardens, in each 
 Month of the Year. A complete book of the kind. A plan of a 
 kitchen-garden, and little plates to explain the works of pruning 1 , 
 grafting, and budding. But it is here, as in all my books, the 
 principles that are valuable : it is a knowledge of these that fill* 
 the reader with delight in the pursuit. 1 wrote a Gardener for 
 
LIST OF MR. COBBETT'S BOOKS. 7 
 
 America, and the vile wretch who pirated it there had the base 
 ness to leave out the dedication. No pursuit is so rational as this, 
 as an amusement or relaxation, and none so innocent and so use 
 ful. It naturally leads to early rising ; to sober contemplation ; 
 and is conducive to health. Every young man should be a gar 
 dener, if possible, whatever else may be his pursuits. 
 
 THE WOODLANDS, 
 
 COBRETT'S WOODLANDS (Price 14s.) ; or, A TREATISE on 
 the Preparing of Ground for Planting; on the Planting; on the 
 Cultivating ; on the Pruning; and on the Cutting down of Forest 
 Trees and Underwoods ; describing the usual Growth and Size and 
 the Uses of each sort of Tree, the Seed of each, the Season and 
 Manner of collecting the Seed, the Manner of Preserving and Sow 
 ing it, and also the Manner of Managing the Young Plants until fit 
 to plant out; the TREES being arranged in Alphabetical Order, and 
 the List of them, including those of America as well as those of 
 England, and the English, French, and Latin name being prefixed 
 to the Directions relative to each Tree respectively. This work 
 takes every tree at ITS SEED, and carries an account of it to the 
 cutting down and converting to its uses. 
 
 A. TREATISE OK COSEETT'3 COXtXT. 
 
 COBBETT'S CORN-BOOK (Price 5s.) ; or, A TREATISE on 
 COBETT'S CORN : containing Instructions for Propagating and 
 Cultivating the Plant, and for Harvesting (and Preserving the 
 Crop ; and also an Account of the several Uses to which the Pro 
 duce is applied, with Minute Directions relative to each Mode of 
 Application. This edition I sell at 5.v. that it may get into nu 
 merous hands. I have had, even this year, a noble crop of this 
 corn : and 1 undertake to pledge myself, that this corn will be ia 
 general cultivation in England, in two or three years from this 
 time, in spite of all that fools and malignant asses can say against 
 it. When I get time to go out into the country, amongst the la 
 bourers in KENT, SUSSEX, HANTS, WILTS, and BEHKS, who are 
 now more worthy of encouragement and good living than they ever 
 were, though they were ahvays excellent; I promise myself the 
 pleasure of seeing'this beautilul crop growing in all their gardens, 
 and to see every man of them once more witu a bit of meat on his 
 table and in his satchell, instead of the infamous potato. 
 
 4. MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS. 
 
 P APEP. AGAINST GOZ,1>. 
 
 COBBETT'S PAPER AGAINST GOLD (Price 5s.) ; or, the 
 
 History and Mystery of the Bank of England, of t l ie Debt, of 
 thfc Stocks, of the Sinking Fund, and of all the other tricks atidcon- 
 
8f LIST OF MR. COBBETT'S ,BOOKS. 
 
 trivances carried on by this means of Paper Money. This is the 
 tenth edition of this work, which will, I trust, be admired long after 
 the final destruction of the horrible system which it exposes. It is 
 the A, B, C, of paper-money learning. Every young man should 
 read.it with attention. 
 
 THS CITEtSS OP 
 
 THE CURSE OF PAPER-MONEY; showing the Evils pro 
 duced in America by Paper-Money. By WILLIAM GOUGE; and 
 Reprinted, with a Preface, by WILLIAM COBBETT, M.P. Price 4s. 
 
 F QUIT A 31,2 
 FOUR LETTERS TO THE HON. JOHN STUART 
 WORTLEY, in Answer to his " Brief Inquiry into the True 
 Award of an Equitable Adjustment between the Nation and its 
 Creditors." Price '2s. 
 
 ZtTTZtAX. XtZDES. 
 
 COBBETT'S RURAL RIDES. (Price bs.} RURAL RIDES in 
 
 the Counties of Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Wiltshire, 
 Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Somersetshire, 
 Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Hertford 
 shire : with Economical aud Political Observations relative to 
 Matters applicable to, and illustrated by, the State of those Coun 
 ties respectively. These rides were performed on horseback. Jf 
 the members of the Government had read them, only just read 
 them, last year, when they were collected and printed in a volume, 
 they could not have helped foreseeing all the violences that have 
 taken place, and especially in these very counties; and fore 
 seeing them, they must have been devils iu reality if they had not 
 done something to prevent them. This is such a book as statesmen 
 ought to read. 
 
 POOR, BEAST'S FR.IEWD, 
 
 COBBETT'S POOR MAN'S FRIEND (Price 8<Z.) ; or, a De 
 fence of the Rights of those who do the Work and fight the Battles. 
 This is my favourite work. I bestowed more labour upon it than 
 upon any large volume that I ever wrote. Here it is proved, that, 
 according to all laws, divine as well as human, no one is to die 
 with hunger amidst an abundance of food. 
 
 CTTIDE. 
 
 COBBETT'S EMIGRANT'S GUIDE (Price 2s. 6rf.) ; in TEN 
 LETTERS addressed to the TAXPAYERS OF ENGLAND; containing 
 information of every kind, necessary to persons who are about to 
 emigrate ; including several authentic and most interesting letters 
 from English Emigrants, now in America, to then relations in 
 England; and an account of the prices of House and Land, recently 
 obtained from America by Mr. Cohbett. A New Edition. Here 
 ali the information is contained that any one going to the United 
 States of America can want, down to the most minute particulars ; , 
 apd h'sre it is shown, that a man, who does not wish to be starved,. 
 or to e a slave, ought not to emigrate to any other country. 
 
LIST OF MR. COBBETT'S BOOKS. 9 
 
 MANCHESTER, X.CTT7B.Z:S. 
 
 COBBETT'S MANCHESTER LECTURES. This is a small 
 duodecimo volume (Price 2s. 6'rfJ, and it contains Six Lectures 
 that I delivered at Manchester in the Winter of 1831. In these 
 Lectures I have gone fully into the state of the Country, and have 
 put forth what 1 deem the proper remedies for that state. 1 have 
 fu,JIy discussed the questions of Debt, Dead-Weight, Sinecures 
 and Pensions, Church, Crown Lands, Army and Navy, and I defy 
 all the doctors of political economy to answer me that hook. It 
 contains a statement of the propositions which, please God, I mean 
 to make as a ground-work of relief to our country. 
 
 TJSUH.Y X.AWS. 
 
 USURY LAWS (Price 3.?. 6<7.) ; or LENDING AT INTEREST; 
 also, the Exaction and Payment of certain Church-fees, such as 
 Pew-rents, Burial-fees, and the like, together with forestalling: 
 Traffic; all proved to be repugnant to the Divine and Ecclesiastical 
 Law, and destructive to Civil Society. To which is prefixed a 
 Narrative of the Controversy between the Author and Bishop Cop- 
 pinger, and of the sufferings of the former in consequence of his 
 Adherence to the Truth. By the Rev. JEREMIAH O'CALLAGHAN, 
 Roman Catholic Priest. With a DEDICATION to the " SOCIETY OF 
 FRIENDS," by WILLIAM COBBETT. Every young man should read 
 this book, the history of which, besides the learned matter, is very 
 curious. The " JESUITS," as they call them, in France, ought to 
 read this book ; and then tell the world how they can find the im 
 pudence to preach the Catholic Religion and to uphold the funding 
 system at the same time. 
 
 5. HISTORY. 
 
 PROTESTANT " 
 COBBETT'S HISTORY OF THE PROTESTANT REFORM 
 ATION in ENGLAND and IRELAND (Price 4s. 6d.) ; showing how 
 that Event has impoverished and degraded the main body of the 
 People in those Countries : in a Series of Letters, addressed to all 
 sensible and just Englishmen : also, PART II. (Price 3s.6d.) ; con 
 taining a List of the Abbeys, Priories, Nunneries, Hospitals, and 
 other Religious Foundations, in England and Wales, and in Ire 
 land, confiscated, seized on, or alienated, by the Protestant " Re 
 formation " Sovereigns and Parliaments. There are two Edi 
 tions, one in Duodecimo and one in Royal Octavo, each in two 
 volumes. The last was printed on the notion that the rich Catholics 
 would like to have the work in a finer form. It was an error ; and 
 as it is better to sell books than to keep them, this fine edition is 
 sold for ten shillings; the small edition for Ss. This is the book 
 that has done tlm business of the Established Church ! This book 
 has been translated into all the living languages, and there are 
 two Stereotype Editions of it in the United States of America. This 
 is the source whence are now pouring in the petitions for the aboli 
 tion of tithes ! 
 
LIST OF MR. COBBETT'S BOOKS. 
 
 HISTORY. 
 
 COBBETT'S ROMAN HISTORY (Price 6.9.) ; VOL. I. in EN- 
 GLISH and FRENCH, from the Foundation of Rome to the Battle 
 of Actium ; selected from the best Authors, ancient and modern, 
 with a series of Questions at the end of each chapter; for the use 
 of schools and young persons in general. VOL. 11. AN ABRIDGED 
 HISTORY OF THE EMPERORS, in FRENCH and ENGLISH : being 9, 
 continuation of the HISTORY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC, published 
 by the same Authors, on the same plan, for the use of schools and 
 young persons in general. This work is in French and English. 
 It is intended as an Exercise-book, to be used with my French 
 Grammar; and it is sold at a very low price, to place it within 
 the reach of young- men in general. As a history it is edifying. 
 It is necessary for every man who has any pretensions to book- 
 knowledge, to know something of the history of that famous peo 
 ple ; and I think this is the best abridgment that ever was published. 
 As an Exercise-book it is complete, the translation being as literal 
 and simple as possible. It consists of two thick duodecimo volumes, 
 and is, therefore, as cheap as possible to avoid loss upon mere paper 
 and print; but I wish it to be within the reach of great numbers of 
 young men. 
 
 1.IFS OP ATOimSW JACK.SOW . 
 
 HISTORY OF THE LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON, PRE 
 SIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, from 
 his Birth, in 1767, to the present time ; with a Portrait. Abridged 
 and compiled by WILLIAM COBBETT. M.P. for Oldham. price 
 3s. bds. 
 
 xxr* 
 
 COBBETT'S HISTORY OF THE REGENCY AND REIGN 
 OF GEORGE IV. This work is published in Nos. at 6d. each. 
 There are fourteen Numbers out : the rest will follow in due course ; 
 and when concluded, they shall do just ice to the late " mild and 
 merciful" King. 
 
 LAFAYETTE'S LIFE. (Price Is.} A brief Account of the Life 
 of that brave and honest man, translated from the French, by Mr. 
 JAMES COBBETT. 
 
 6. TRAVELS. 
 
 XiXZTTSILS mOR 
 MR. JOHN COBBETT'S LETTERS FROM FRANCE (Price 
 4s. 6d.) ; containing Observations on that Country during a Jour 
 ney from Calais to the South, as far as Limoges; then back to 
 Paris; and then, after a Residence, from the Eastern parts of 
 France, and through part of the Netherlands ; commencing in 
 April, and ending in December, 1824. 
 
 RIDE 1ST FR.AWCE. 
 
 MR. JAMES COBBETT'S RIDE OF EIGHT HUNDRED 
 MILES IN FRANCE (the Third Edition, Price 2s. 6d.) ; contain- 
 
LIST OF MR. COBBETT'S BOOK*. 11 
 
 ing a Sketch of the Face of the Country, of its Rural Economy, of 
 . the Towns and Villages, of Manufacturers and Trade, and of such of 
 the Manners and Customs as materially differ from those of Eng 
 land ; also, an Account of the Prices of Land, House, Fuel, Food, 
 Raiment, Labour, and other Things, in different parts of the Coun 
 try ; the design heing to exhibit a true Picture of the present State 
 of the People of France ; to which is added, a General View of the 
 Finances of the Kingdom. 
 
 TOUR. XW 1TAI.Y. 
 
 MR. JAMES COBBETT'S TOUR IN ITALY, and also in 
 Part of FRANCE and SWITZERLAND (Price 4s. (K/.) ; the 
 Route being from Paris through Lyons, to Marseilles, and thence 
 to Nice, Genoa, Pisa, Florence, Rome, Naples, and Mount Vesu 
 vius ; and by Ro're, Terni, Perugia, Arezzo, Florence, Bologna, 
 Ferrara, Padua, Venice, Verona, Milan, over the Alps by Mount 
 St. Bernard, Geneva, and the Jura, back into France. The space 
 of time being from October 1821 to September 1829; containing 
 a Description of the Country, of the principal Cities and their most 
 striking Curiosities; of the Climate, Soil, Agriculture, Horticul 
 ture, and Products ; of the Prices of Provisions and of Labour; 
 and of the Dresses and Conditions of the People. And also some 
 Account of the Laws and Customs, Civil and Religious, and of the 
 Morals and Demeanor of the Inhabitants in the several States. 
 
 TOUR, X3XT SCOTXfAlffD. 
 
 TOUR IN SCOTLAND by Mr. COBBETT : the tour taken in the 
 autumn of 1832, and the book written during the tour. It is a 
 small duodecimo volume, the price of which is two shillings aod 
 sixpence. 
 
 7. LAW. 
 
 MAHTENS'S &AW OS 1 JJATIQXJS. 
 COBBETT'S TRANSLATION OF MARTENS'S LAW OF 
 NATIONS (/Vice 17*.) 5 bein the Science of National Law, 
 Covenants, Power, &c. Founded upon the Treaties and Customs 
 of Modern Nations in Europe. By G. F. VON MAHTKNS, Professor 
 of Public Law in the University of Gottingen. Translated from 
 the French, by WM. COBBETT. To which is added, a List of the 
 Principal Treaties, Declarations, and other Public Papers, from, 
 the Year 1731 to 1733, by the Author; and continued by the 
 Translator down to November 1815. (The Fourth Edition.) This 
 is a large Octavo. It was one of ray first literary labours. An 
 excellent Common-Place Book to the Law of Nations. 
 
 THE X.AW OF TUB^WPIBLES. 
 
 MR. WM. COBBETT'S LAW OF TURNPIKES (Price 3s. 6^.): 
 or, an Analytical Arrangement of, and Illustrative Comments on, 
 all the General Acts relative to the Turnpike Roads of England; 
 the whole being in Answer to the following Questions : 1st. What 
 are the General Acts now in Force ? 2nd. What is the Extent of 
 
12 LIST OF MR. COBBETT'S BOOKS 
 
 them 1 3rd. How do they affect every Turnpike Road ? By WM. 
 COBBETT, Junior. Never was anything more neatly arranged, or 
 more clearly explained in few words. If every Magistrate had it, 
 what blundering decisions it would prevent ! 
 
 8. MISCELLANEOUS POLITICS. 
 
 THE R.EGISTSR. 
 
 THE REGISTER, published Weekly, Price Is. Id. Sixty-four 
 pages. 
 
 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARIES' 
 
 COBBETT'S COLLECTIVK COMMENTARIES : or, Re 
 marks on the Proceedings in the Collective Wisdom of the Nation, 
 during the Session which began on the 5th of February, and 
 ended on the 6th of August, in the 3rd year of the Reign of King 
 George the Fourth, and in the year of our Lord 1822 j being the 
 Third Session of the First Parliament of that King. To which 
 are subjoined, a complete List of the Acts passed during the 
 Session, with Elucidations ; and other Notices and Matters ; 
 forming, altogether, a short but clear History of the Collective 
 Wisdom for the year. This is an octdvo book, and the price is 6*. 
 
 TWO-PEUKTY TH.ASH- 
 TWO-PENNY TRASH, complete in two vols., 12mo. 
 
 Price only 3*. for the 2 vols. 
 
 This is the Library that I have created. It really makes 
 a tolerable shelf of books ; a man who understands the 
 contents of which, may be deemed a man of great informa 
 tion. In about every one of these works I have pleaded the 
 cause of the working people ; and I shall now see that cause 
 triumph, in spite of all that can be done to prevent it. 
 
 The following Works will also shortly be published : 
 
 PROTESTANT CHURCH. 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE 
 PROTESTANT CHURCH ; being a Sequel to the " History of 
 the Protestant Reformation." By WILLIAM COBBETT, M.P. 
 
 In One Volume, duodecimo, price 3s. 
 THE POOR, MAWS BXBX.E. 
 
 A collection of Extracts from the Bible relating to the rights of 
 and the duties of the poor ; together with explanations and ob 
 servations by Mr. COBBETT. Thh will form a small volume, 
 handy for those who are interested on either side. 
 
 A liATIK- GRATKMAXl. 
 A LATIN GRAMMAR, by Mr. JAMES COBBETT. 
 
 Printed by Win. Cobbett, Johuson's-court, Fleet-street. 
 
 AC 
 
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352919 
 
 Cobbett, W. 
 
 Life of Andrew 
 Jackson. 
 
 E382 
 C65 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
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