The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-07-07

nance and warn the cabinet and the field; and the
olive and the laurel have equally contributed their
honors to form the chaplet of his great renown IL
Is therefore only in the order Of his distinguished
services, that shall first ask your attention to his
military career; noticing, however, very briefly, be-
fore do so, some circumstances connected win the
history of his early life.
The birth, parentage, and early portions of Gen
eral Jackson's life, belong to history We are here
10 commemorate the character Of the hero states
man, and patriot. ! shall say nothing therefore,
Of his ancestors. Virtue and greatness have no
need of birth. Born simple citizen, of poor but
respectable parents, he became great by no other
means than the energy Of his own character; and
being, AZ he seems to have BEEN the favorite Of
Nature and Heaven! Had he been born to wealth
and influence, he might probably have lived and
died an obscure and ordinary man.
| Severe discipline and poverty Injured him IN
early life to great hardship and industry; and il has
been justly said of him, that he seems to have been
an orphan from the plough to the presidency. He
must therefore, be regarded the architect OF his
own fame and fortunes Although too young to
| have taken any distinguished part in lighting up
/ the beacon fires of our glorious revolution, or un-
iurling the banner Of liberty with our revolution
airy heroes and patriots, the close Of that menlora-
BILE struggle found him, though boy of only four
teen in arms in the corps of the gallant Davie and
soon afterwards, with brother, prisoner IN Cam
fering, and was finally, at the intercesson of his
mother, liberated by an exchange of prisoners.
These early scenes of our revolution were not lost
4 upon such mind as Jackson's. The bravery and
devotion of fathers their stern determination to
/ meet coming events, and vigorous preparation to
meet them successfully; the great battles which been
fought; the services and sacrifices which had been
/ made the renowned men of those times, both IN
the field and in the cabinet and the imperishable
glory they achieved--were ever fresh in his reco-
lection, and contributed mainly to form, in after
i times, the bent and character OF his great mind
They made an impression on him, which ceased
only with his last breath, and were the examples
that stimulated his PATRIOTISM and formed his own
| heroic heart
1 He drank, and deeply too, at the pure fountains
tingushed by many of those noble traits Of char
acter which marked his progress through life.
There was an openness, simplicity, good faith,
an affectionae ardor elevation of soul, with an
nvncible physical and moral courage, and holiness,
and love Of ruth, which irresstibly made way to
the hearts Of all who nearly approached him, and
rendered him the object through life of jealous
and enthusiastic attachment almost unexampled.
These qualities adhered to him throughout his event.
full life, and signally marked, as you will see, its
close.
n It 10 said, that in his youth he had no relish for
} literary scientific pursuits. This is no doubt
true. His education was certainly nothing more
than that which was afforded in those days to the
children of the poorer .classes, and was confined
principally to the rudiments of the English, and the
lower and practical branches Of mathematics. Reg
ular and classical education has been thought by
some distinguished to he unfavorable to great
vgor and originality of the understanding; and that,
like civilization, whilst it made society more inter-
, esting and agreeable, yet at the same time, il
levelled the distinctions of nature; that whilst It
strengthened and assisted the feeble, it calcu-
lated to deprive the strong of their triumph, and
beat down the hopes of the aspiring Be this as it
may truth requires us to say that the mind of Gen.
t Jackson escaped the training and diaectcs of the
schools; and, SO far at least as distinguished
countryman, John Randolph, once said, sit had
certainly fair play"
: His writings were plain and pointed made up gen.
orally of short sentences, but characterized by adj
mirable good sense great clearness and solldity,
and a manly fortitude of thought, firm and UNI
shrinking.
Without saying anything to the disparagement of
scholarship or science, he had no claims to the
character Of scholar or of science, much less
to that Of orator rhetorican. Through life he
was fond Of reading history and the Bible, the lat
ter of which was his constant friend and compan-
ion. You cannot but have been struck with his de-
claration on this subject few hours before his
death: 'That the Bible the bulwark Of our free
institutions, and the comforter of our present and
future safety"
From youth to old age, he seems to have had a
lust estimation Of his great mental powers and
} natural resources, and hence never felt
"How hard Il was to climb
The steep where Fame's proud temple shines afar"
Having determined to devote himself to the pro-
ession Of the law, he removed from South to North
: Carolina; and, under the auspices of Judge McCay
and Col. Stokes, read law and obtained license to
Practise and as proof Of the estimation in which
he then held, he received, from the government
of North Carolina the appointment of solicitor for
the western part Of that State, being the present
State of Tennessee.
AT the age Of %, General Jackson crossed the
mountains, for the purpose of dischargng the du-
ties imposed on him by this appointment, and ma
king the West his permanent home. Tennessee
was, of course, then wilderness, and denominated
the Bloody Land" Happy. was it for this patri-
otto State that such was the destiny of this great
mani
He resided there until she became a State, and
soon ranked among her most distinguished men,
and filed, different periods, most of the high Of
a fees of the State, civil and military.
He was member of her convention, and had a
large share in forming her constitution. He was
her first representative in the House of Representa-
tives of the United States, and afterwards be-
came her senator in Congress. He was then trans
lated from the national councils, and became a
Judge of the supreme court Of Tennessee, which
Office he held for years, and then resigned, to
devote himself TO military pursuits and studies, and
soon rose to the rank of major general of militia.
At later PERIOD he was again in the Senate OF the
United States, and only retired from it when nom
mated fOr the presioency. Anu wei may TIC Peo-
pie of Tennessee regard him as their especial bene-
factor and friend. He grew up with that State
from her infancy; gloried in her expansion and des-
tiny; and to her government and people devoted his
affections and his life. And the larger portion, both
of Tennessee and the adjoining country, conquered
by his sword, is filled with the monuments of his
| valor and skill.
So much for this early portion of his life we will
| now pass to a brief notice of his military character
and services And, in the first place, will take oc-
casion to say that there are few men, probably who
have lived, justly entitled to the character
of warrior-a great warrior--than Andrew Jackson.
Indeed, the very name Of Jackson irresisbly car
ries to the mind of every American the impression
Of great military commander; and as SUCH he must
ever stand high amongst the highest on earth. Who
is there that ever combined in greater degree all
the distinguishing and endenring qualities Of open
ness of heart; the manness Of pride; the benevo-
lence of feeling and that chivarous and daring
age which the Imagination ascribes to the perfection
Of great warrior than General Jackson-exceptng