Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-05-29


! differed in their construction Of I'll
e terms of their enlistment. The cor
: troversy grew warm and bite
: until it almost reached the point I
l open mutiny on the part Of tn
3 troops. He found his army mel
: ing away from him, but he stood q
t firm as the everlasting hills, declal
ing that he would hold the posts h
had established or perish in the al
} tempt. He called ON the gOVerno
of Tennessee for new levieS, but tn
|, governor informed him that he hal
no authority to make such levies
and advised him to disband a por
ti0n of his troops and with the re
mainder march back to the settle
ments, where forage and provision
were plentiful, and await the action
of the government until men anC
means could be provided for a Wig
Orous and successful prosecution 0
the campaign. The situation, in
deed, seemed hopeless, and to war
rant the patriotic governor In adj
vising a termination of the cam.
paign for the time being. Never
/ did history present a grander spec.
I tacle than Andrew Jackson, at his
advanced post in the heart of an
/ enemy's country, with a mere hand
ful of men, but resolutely determ-
ined to hold the fort or be buried in
its ruins. Never did lofty spirit
climb the "toppling crags of duty''
with a firmer step or a sublimer
faith. With the instincts of great
/ o. hn ce,x
ruin, and he determined at all haz-
ards to avert it. His letter to Gov.
Blount is sufficient of itself to inn
m0rtalize him. He called for new
troops he appealed to the governor
to take the responsibility and send
forward new levies that he might
advance and complete the conquest
which he had so auspiciously inaug-
urated, and which he felt was so
necessary to the peace and safety Of
all that portion of the country mem
aced directly by the Indians and
prospectively by their British allies.
He concludes his immortal letter to
Gov. Blount in these memorable
words: "YoU have only to act with
the energy and decision the crisis
demands, and all will be well.
Send me a force engaged for six
months and / will answer for the
result; but withhold it, and all is
lost-the reputation of the state,and
yours and mine along with it,
These were brave words. They
We're the utterances of a patriot, un-
seIhshly devoted to his country's
welfare, and of a great soldier who
felt that her safety at that critical
moment hung upon his single arm,
This letter changed the whole aspect
of affairs. Its trumpet tones stirred
the public heart and awOke the
slumbering energies of the people.
New levies of troops were soon on
where their intrepid leader stood,
deaf alike to murmur or mutiny in
his own camp and danger from the
attack of the foe. Thus reinforced,
he fought the battle of the Horse
shoe, and the Creek war was Virtu-
ally ended. phe unconquered war
riors Of the tribe who disdained to
fled for safety to the ever
glades of Florida, and those who
remained laid down their arms and
sued for peace. The hardy settler
and his wife and little ones could
now lie down at night in security
and repOse. The battle of the Horse |
shoe made the Sth of January a pos
sibility and the 8th of January made
the 4th of March a certainty. In a
of a few months he had |
broken the power of the warlike |
Greeks and brought them as suppIi-
ants at his feet.
The great value to the country of |
this brief and brilliant campaign of |
Jackson was soon apparent to all. |
had fallen, and the peace |
of Europe was restored. England |
no longer confronted by an enemy |
at home was left free to concentrate |
her undivided strength and power |
against us. Gen. Harrison, having |
resigned his commission as a major
general of the United States, Gen.
by the government, and he accepted
it. He was ordered to take COM
mand Of the southern division OF
the army, If that could be called an
army which was composed Of only
three skeleton regiments of regular
troops. He now had before him a
task we'll calculated to tax to It's ut
.ermost the genius and prOWess of
the greatest commander. He had
met the savage in his mountain
astness and conquered him; and
thanks to his foresight and
left no enemy in his
-ear while he went to the perilOus
'front.'. But he had now to meet
and well-appointed ar
my, trained in the best schools Of
warfare, and decked with
aureIs won upon historic fields.
The proud mistress of the sea, her
Dronzed cheek yet glowing with the
light of recent triumph, was coming
with a Formidable force towards
our devoted shores. She came
vengeance against our
people and confident of victory, full
1f the boastful and invincible spirit
20 grandly expressed by one Of her
own poets: a1
Britannia needs no bulwarl1s, .ta
tt No towers along the steep,
Her march is DER the ocean waves,
Her home is ON the deeD. III f
Our government was yet in its in
'ancy our treasury was empty,
md our credit sorely crippled.
Jackson, with no army save raw
md inexperienced troops, had
thousand miles of coast to defend,
md not a fort garrisoned on the en-
ire line.
The situation was far from cheer
'ul and encouraging, and was gen
erally regarded by our government
md people with painful anxiety
md alarm. But there was one man
whose heart never quailed, whose
nope never waned, whose faith new
er wavered and whose step never
in the presence of the dam
yers that confronted him. That
nan was Andrew Jackson. How
ne met the responsibilities and de-
nands of the occasion, let Mobile,
and New Orleans answer.
rhe result is too well known ever
% fade from the memory of our
and especially from the
recollection of Tennesseans. The
volunteer state reaped in that grand
too large a harvest of
ylory to ever allow its splendors to
ade or suffer its achievements to be
orgotten. Peace once more lifted
Ter white wings upon the breeze
Ind Andrew Jackson stepped into
his destined and appointed niche in
he temple of fame. In all our glo-
'ious history no page burns with
brighter luster than that which re-