Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-01-15
0 R ALTON
OF THE
H0A STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS,
On the ia 9uratioa Of tie Jackson Statue


their illustr The hero the statesman the bene
factor Of th ~ thus passes to succeeding genera
tons, and re With him the gores Of his time and
the memory Le people associated with his achieve
ments. Ira his historic column illustrated to sue
cessiye gener ions the brilliant achievements in the field
and wise act y sounci which impaired lustre and i'm
mortality 70 II. reign. Constantine from his sored
arch for cen arcs has proclaimed religious liberation to
the humble crsan and proudly recounted the glorious
deeds Of hs f and times The scuptured marble above
the urns that hold their sacred ashes delneate the
animated scenes in which their fame was won and
command admiration, If not the homage OF the
world TIL best Of Emperors, Marcus Aurelius, looks
from Hs fry steed the realm he exalteda group
in sponnaneEtal the nobrst in all antiauitv
II yet survives the ruin of his country, in subIlm
pypetuatns the glories OF the aud the gratitude
Of the Roman people amidst degradation which 1t
now mparts hope of regeneration The statue before
you is the work of exalted by his enthusiasm for
the glorious deeds and wise of hero and statesman
Ii is the work of young untaught American cannot
call him artist. He studied nor copied. He
never saw an equestrian statue model 1t is
the work of Unborn genius aroused to energy by the r
spirit of liberty which hrobs in the great heart
of continentwhich creates the power of great
cepions, the aspiration and the will the mental faculty
and the manual skill, to eernize the actors who ennoble
the country by giving their forms and expressions to i'm
perishable materials.
Pr.udly may compare to the equestrian statues Of
tnnt nODle
and failures of hero and that colossal warhorse in
bronz, WHICH will bear him in glory through future ages
haye delneations Of the equestrian statues Of
Peter the Great of Frederick the Great and OF the Duke
of Wellington, which are esteemed, believe the best
specimens of that description of sculpture that modern
Europ has been able to contribute to her collection Of
works of art The horse Of the great Car supported
in its rampant position by resting the hind feet with
the all of the unsghty contrvance Of extending between
its LEGS serpent which, by bend in the body, connects
with e tail of the steed and is fastened to the pedestal
That # the great Prussan monarch, designed appear
in motion has foot before and another behind fixed
to the PEDESTAL third lifted and supported by prop
assist in sustaining the weight and bat left free 10
give le semblance of life and movement The rearing
teed Of the Duke Of Wellington like that of Peter the
Great maintains its rampant position by the hind legs and
tail bGng riyeted to the massive PEDESTAL What won
derfu triumph has our untaught countryman achieved
these renowned trophies of European art in the hot
and fiery charger before you, leapng proudly if
he disained the ground sefpoised and sefsustained
on th, single point whence ne derives his motion No
props serFents unnatural contrvances here.
Mature, which has taught the mpetuous steed pose
his weight and gather his strength spring into the air.
has given tue genius which fashioned this group the
power 10 mpart grace and energy TO the fneybaancel
attitude which makes the weight that others prop and
hold up by furnish the work its strength and
stability.
But the real power Of the nobest consists in
the moral grandeur Of the recoectons recalls. Tie
exquisite beauty Of the Of Nero, by its contrast
with the il brings mind makes the heart re-
coil as from the shining folds of polished serpent How
different the hehoider In the presence Of the august
before us The image of the resistes hero who 9rove
the lAst nvaderfos shores turns thoughts
the eager boy who shed bis STRIPPING blood il the Re-
vou6on, and to the resoute sage who whstood the
rupDn and phrenzy of his times and the patriot
whose life and deeds marx most eyentful IN
national history.
Let me glance at some Of the events in bis glorious
career and close with view Of him in his retirement
the Hermitage.
In the year 1866 small vessel arrived in the harbor Of
Charleston with number OF Irish emigrants board
who had fed from tyranny and persecution in the Old
World TO find peace and freedom in the new. Among
them family by the name Of Jackson consisting Of
Andrew and his wife, and their two sons, Hugh and
Robert They Immediately proceeded to the upper cun
try and selected for their home lonely spot in the
secluded valley Of the Waxhaw Two years after Andrew
Jackson whose iustrious deeds have filled the word
with his renown was born The father died few months
after the birth u the son. who to inherit his
and render Il immortal Nobly did the widowed mother
perform her duty those fatherless children The earlier
years Of our hero boyhood spent in the peaceful
abode Of Naxhaw Academy. he was there when the Re-
voution burst upon the world The war-cry from the
bloody fields Of Lexington, and Concord and Bunker Hill
aroused the people Of all the colonies TO just Of
their wrongs and inspired them with the firm resolve
assert and yindcate their rights The disastrous
paign which succeeded the first brilliant achievements
the heroic movements Of Washington at Trenton; the
suerings the army at Valley Forge the glorious vic
tory at Saratoga excited, in alienation the fears and
o.
highest point When the tide Of dcsoation rolled over
the scattered settlements or the Carolnas the whole poi
pulation old and young, proved themselves worthy Of
freedom by the spirit in which they met the ruthless op
pressor Hugh the elder brother Of Andrew Jackson,
fell In his first battle az Stone Robert became martyr
to liberty and lost his life from wounds received while
in captivity The mother descended TO the grave, vic
tim 10 grief and suffering in ceaseess eortst and
save her sons Andrew thus left alone in the world
at tender age without father mother brother sis
friend fortune. assist him. Ali
the high Qualities with which God had endowed him. and
the noble precepts which pious and saned mother had
infused into his young heart He had already the age
Of fourteen, become soldier Of the Revolutions had
borne the fagues and privations Of the march with his
on his shoulder had disrlaved the cooness in
trepdy and forttode Of the in his FIRST engage
ments with the enemy had enduredthe suferings Of
cruel captivity and for his manly refusal perform
nal services while prisoner he had received wound
from the sword Of British officer, the Of which be
carried with him 20 his grave.
The enemy repulsed the young hero returned 10 big
studies to prepare himself for the practice o. the law
which he had selected as profession
In the time the noble work Of political regenera
ton pressed forwardthe union Of the colonies
Gned by the Articles Of Confederatonthe Independence
the American States acknowledged by the Powers Of
Europehe laws and institutions a tho several States
revised and moulded in conformity with the inaiesable
rights Of manthe fundamental principles Of civil and
religious liberty established in the State constitutions
and growing out Of and resting upon these was the or
ganizaton OF the Federal Government under that wonder
iul instrument the Constitution Of the United States
America then stood forth Power on earth with the i'm
mortal Washington at it's head At peace with the
tons OF the Old World-with wise foreign policy adm
rably adapted to our condition and relative position
with wide spread and rapidly.ncreasing commerce.
what more natural than that the energies o toe people
should be dircd the settlement and development of
that vast an setle wilderness in the valley Of the Mis-
ssspp ana ss the Father OF his Country should exert
4 =. LII y.