Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1845-07-18

life of a husbandman. He carried into retire.
ment the fame of natural intelligence, and was
cherished as "a prompt, frank, and ardent
SOUL" His vigour of character Constituted
him first among all with whom he associated.
A private man as he was, his name was fami-
liarly spoken round every hearth-stone in Tsn+
nessee. Men loved to discuss Ills qualities.
All discerned his power and when the ve-
hemence and impetuoslty of his nature were
observed upon, there were not wanting those
who saw, beneath the blazing fires Of his gem
ius. the solidity of his Judgment.
His hospitabie roof sheltered the emigran1
and the pioneer and, as they made their way
to their new homes, they filled the mountain
sides and valleys with his praise.
Connecting himself, for season, with a
man of business, Jackson soon dfscerned the
misconduct of his associate. 1t marked his
character, that he insisted, himself, on paying
every obligation that had been contracted; ands
rather than endure the vassalage Of debt, he
instantly parted with the rich domain which
his early enterprise had acquired-with his
own mansion-With the fields which he him
self had tanned to the gh-share-wlth the
forest whose trees were as familiar TO him as
his friends-and chose rather to dwell, for a
time, in rude log cabin, in the pride OF his
Independence and integrity.
On all great occasions, Jackson's influence
was referred to. When Jefferson had acquir-
ed for the country the whole of Louisiana,
and there seemed some hesitancy, on the part
of Spain, to acknowledge our possession, the
services of Jackson We're solicited by the ma
tional administration, and were not called IN
to full exercise only from the peaceful termi-
nation of the incidents that occaSioredm tire
Summons:
In the long series Of aggressons on the Free
dom of the seas, and the rights of the Ameri-
can flag, Jackson Was on the side of his coun-
try, and the new maritime code of republican,
ism. In this inland home, where The roar OF
the breakers was never heard, and the mari
ner never seen, he resented the continued ag-
gresslon on our commerce and OH our sailors.
When the continuance Of wrong compelled
the nation to resort to arms, Jackson, led by
the instructive know ledge Of his own great
ness, yet with a modesty that would have
honored the most sensitive delcacy of nature,
confessed his willingness to be employed on
the Canada frontier; and it IS fact, that he
aspired to the command to which Winchester
was appointed. We may ask, what would
have been the result, if the command Of the
northwestern army had, at the opening OF the
war, been intrusted to man who, IN action,
was ever so fortunate, that his vehement Will
,
designs!
t The path of duty led him in another ditec-
ton. On the declaration of war, twenty Ave
hundred volunteers had risen at his WORT to-
follow his standard; but, by couItermandings
orders from the seat Of government, was with
out effect.
A new and great danger hung over tie
West. The Indian tribes were to make one
last effort to restore to its Solitude and recover
1t for savage life. The brave; relentless Shaw
hees-who, from time immenorial, had stroll
led from the waters Of the Ohio to the rivers
of Alabama-were animated by Tecumseh
and his brother the Prophet, who spoke to them
as with voice of the Great Spirit, and rous-
! ed the Creek nation to desperate massacres.
Who had not heard Of their terrible deeds,
when their ruthless cruelty spared neither sex
nor age? When the infant and its mother,
the planter. and his family, who had fled for
refuge to the fortress, the garrison that capit-
ulated-all were slain, and not vestige of
, defence was left in the country? The cry of
the west demanded jackson for it's defender !;
and though his arm was then fractured by a
bali, and hung in a sling, he placed himself
at the head Of the volunteers of Tennessee
and resolved to terminate forever the heredi-
t tary struggle. 80
Who can tell the horrors of that campdlgnI
: Who can paint rightly the obstacles which
Jackson oVercame-mountalnS, the scarcity OF
untenanted forests, winter, the failure of sup-
, plies from the settlements, the insubordnatlon
2 of troops, mutlny, menaces of desertlon! Who
5 can measure the wonderful power over men,
, by which, his personal prowess and attractive
t energy drew tlTem in mid-wlnter from theft
, homes, across mountains and morasses, and
t through trackIess deserts! Whoca describe
f the personal heroism of Jackson, never spa
e ring himself, beyond any of his men, encousi
$ terlng toll and fatigue, sharing every labor ot
a the camp and of the march, foremost in every
r danger; giving up his horse to the Invalid sol
+ der, while lie himself waded through Che
swamps on foot! Noneequalled ffn III Pow-
er of endurance and the private soldiers, az
: they found him passing them ON the march,
f exclaimed, she IS as tough as the hickory"
= '1es," they cried one to another, ssthefe goes
:, Old Hickory ="
It Who can narrate the terrible eTsuts Of Che
S double battles of Emuckfaw, or the glorious
S victory of Tohopeka, where the anger OF the
i general against the faltering was more appai'
i ling than the war-wlroop and the rife OF the
savage? Who can rightly conceive the held
e of Enotochopco, where the general, as he at-
j. tempted tn draw the sword to cut down d n.y.
l. inc colonel who was leading regiment from
2, the field. broke again the arm which was But
n newly knit together; and, quietly replacing il
n lin The sling, with his commanding voice ar
3 rested the flight of the troops, and himself led
J. :hem back to victory?
" In six short months Of vehement action, The
most terrible Indian war in our annals. wa.
J. brought to a close; the prophets wete silsn
l. ced the consecrated region of tie Creek ma
e ton reduced. Through scores of blood, tn.
5, avenging hero sought ONLY the path to peace
= Thus Alabama; part. of Mississippi, par
e of his own Tennessee, and the highway 70 the
n Floridas, were hls gifts to the UnioA> These
!, were his trophies: