Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-12-22
THE GAZETTE.
THURSDAY MORNING. prcAunnr -. lS5:
GEN. JACK son.

MS Taior ,riea q Bny.-The following IN
,ident Of the bovhood Of Icn. jackson, Is
coped from P,.rtnn's Life Of jackson. 1t
occurred during the partzan war III the
WaXhaws:
In ina, tierc. Srotcli-lndiau warfare. the
absence If "A father from home was often a
better protection To his family than hls pre-
srncc: because his presence invited attack.
III. main Object Of both parties was /" Kill
the lighting men. and t. ascmSc the siayhg
al partizans. The house 81 the quiet hero
Hicks, lor example. was sale until II was
lIoised about among the tories that Hicks
was al home And thus It came 10 pass that
when Il wing soldier Of any note desired I"
spend a night with his family. his nelglihors
were. accustomed 10 turn out and serve a Il
guard 10 his house while he slept. Behold
Robert and Andrew jackson. with SIX others.
,huS employed one night in the spring Of
ISL AT the domicil Of u neishbor, Captain
Sands. The guard on this OCCASION was
more friendly tribute T. IN active partizan
than service considered necessary t. ms
safety. In short, the night was not TAR
advanced before the whole party were
snugly housed and stretched upon the Hoor,
all sound asleep. except one, British dcScr-
Ter, who was restless, aad dozed ut intervals.
Danger was near. fhand Of tories, bent
on taking the life OF Captain Sands, APP
preached the house in two divisions; one par
N m wing TOYS ards the trunt door, the other
towards the back. The wakeiul soldier,
hearing a suspicious noise, rose, went out OF
doors to learn its cause and saw the foe steal
thily nearing the house. lie ran in III terror
and seized Andrew jackson, who lay next
the door, BY the hair, and exclaimed:
The torres are upon US.
Andrew sprang up and ran out. Seeing
a body Of men in the distance. he placed the
end of his gun in the low fork of a tree near
the door, and hailed them. No reply. lie
hailed them second time. No reply
They auickened their pace. and had come
within few rods Of the door, by this
to-, the guards in the house had been
reused. and were gathered in group behind
the boy Andrew discharged his musket,
upon which the tories fred a vollcy. which
killed the hapess deserter who had gwen
the alarm. The other party Of tories, who
were approaching the house from the other
side, hearing this discharge, and the rush
Of bullets above their heads, supposed that the
firing issued from a party that had issued
from the house.
They now fired volley, which sent a
valley of balls whistlihg about the heads OF
their friends on the other side Both parties
hesi,aled. and then halted. Andrew having
thus. by lis single discharge puzzled and
stopped the enemy. retired TO the house,
where he and his comrades kept up brisk
fire from the windows. One of the guard
fell MORALLY wounded by his side. and anoth-
erreceiyed wound less severe. In the midst
of this singular contest, bugle was heard
some distance off, sounding the cavalry
charge. whereupon the torres. concluding
that they had come upon an ambush OF
wings. and were about 10 be assaied by
horse and foot, fed to whsre they had lett
their horses, mounted, dashed pell-mell into
the woods, and were seen no more. IT ap-
peared afterwards that the bugle was sound
ed by neighbor, who, Judging from the
noise Of musketry that Capt Sands was at
tackled, and having not a single man with
him in his house. gave the blast upon the
trumpet thinking that even trick so
stale, aided by the darkness Of the night,
might have some effect in alarming the as
sailants