John Coffee John Coffee ( June 2 , 1772 – July 7 , 1833 ) was an American planter and state militia general in Tennessee . He commanded troops under General Andrew Jackson in the Creek Wars ( 1813 – 1814 ) and the later Battle of New Orleans . President Andrew Jackson appointed Coffee as his representative , along with Secretary of War John Eaton , to negotiate treaties with Southeast American Indian tribes to accomplish removal , a policy authorized by Congressional passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 . Coffee negotiated the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830 with the Choctaw by which they ceded their lands , and started negotiations with the Chickasaw , but they did not conclude a treaty until after his death . Family . Born in Prince Edward County , Virginia , Coffee was the son of Lieutenant Joshua Coffee ( January 26 , 1745 – September 8 , 1797 ) and Elizabeth Graves ( January 28 , 1742 – December 13 , 1804 ) . He was a grandson of English settlers Peter Coffee , Sr . ( 1716 - November 1771 ) and Susannah Mathews ( 1701 – 1796 ) both of whom were from Kent , England . Marriage and family . John Coffee married Mary Donelson , the daughter of Captain John Donelson III and Mary Purnell , on October 3 , 1809 . A paternal aunt was Andrew Jackson ' s wife , Rachel Donelson Robards . Coffee and Jackson were in business together ; before his friend ' s marriage , Jackson sold his partnership in their joint merchandising business to Coffee , taking promissory notes for the sale . After the wedding , Jackson gave Coffee the notes as his wedding present to the couple . Career . Coffee was a merchant and land speculator . He and Andrew Jackson were friends and had been partners in Nashville merchandising before Coffee ' s marriage . He was considered the most even - tempered and least selfish of Jackson ' s lifelong friends . Described as a big awkward man , careless of dress , and slow of speech , Coffee was also said to be kindly , tactful and wise . In early 1806 , Coffee challenged Nathaniel A . McNairy to a duel for publishing derogatory statements about Jackson . The duel took place on March 1 , 1806 , over the Tennessee line in Kentucky . McNairy unintentionally fired before the " word " , wounding Coffee in the thigh . In return , McNairy offered to lay down his pistol and give Coffee an extra shot . The weapons used in this duel were later used in the Jackson - Dickinson duel on May 30 , 1806 . Militia service . At the beginning of the War of 1812 , Coffee raised the 2nd Regiment of Volunteer Mounted Riflemen , composed mostly of Tennessee militiamen ( and a few men from Alabama ) . In December 1812 , Governor Willie Blount had called out the Tennessee militia in response to a request from General John Wilkinson and the U . S . Secretary of War . Under Jackson ' s command , Coffee led 600 men in January 1813 to Natchez , Mississippi Territory , via the Natchez Trace , in advance of the rest of the rest of the troops , who traveled via flatboats . After the two groups reunited in Natchez , Wilkinson and the U . S . government disbanded Jackson ' s troops . All marched back to Nashville to disband , and on this march Jackson earned the nickname " Old Hickory " from his troops . They arrived in Nashville on May 18 , 1813 . On September 4 , 1813 Coffee was involved in the Andrew Jackson - Benton Brothers duel in Nashville , knocking Thomas Benton down a flight of stairs after Benton ' s failed assassination attempt on Jackson . In October 1813 , the 2nd Regiment was combined with Col . Cannon ' s Mounted Regiment and the 1st Regiment of Volunteer Mounted Gunmen to form a militia brigade of mounted infantry . Coffee was promoted to brigadier - general and placed in command . Coffee led his brigade , which consisted largely of free blacks and American Indian warriors from allied Southeast tribes , at the Battle of New Orleans . They played a key role in holding the woods to the east of the British redcoats ' column . Coffee ' s brigade was the first to engage the British , by firing from behind the trees and brush . Jackson chose General Coffee as his advance commander in the Creek War , in which he commanded mostly state militia and allied American Indians . Under Jackson ' s command , Coffee led his brigade at the Battle of Tallushatchee , the Battle of Talladega , and the Battles of Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek , where he was seriously wounded , and the Battle of Horseshoe Bend . At the latter , the American allied forces conclusively defeated the Red Sticks , traditionalists of the Creek Nation who were allied with the British . Later life . After the war and some failed investments , Coffee began work as a surveyor , laying down the town of Florence , Alabama . In 1816 he surveyed the boundary line between Alabama and Mississippi . He later moved to near Florence , Alabama . His friend and former business partner Jackson was elected President of the United States . Jackson worked toward removal of Southeast Indian tribes to territory west of the Mississippi River . Jackson appointed Coffee as his representative , along with Secretary of War John Eaton , to negotiate treaties with Southeast American Indian tribes to accomplish removal , a policy authorized by Congressional passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 . Coffee negotiated the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830 with the Choctaw by which they ceded their lands in the Southeast . He started negotiations with the Chickasaw , but the US did not conclude a treaty with these people until after his death . Coffee died in Florence . Legacy and honors . Coffee County , Alabama and Coffee County , Tennessee , and the towns of Coffeeville , Alabama and Coffeeville , Mississippi are named in his honor . Research notes . Researchers often confuse this General John Coffee with his first cousin John E . Coffee ( 1782 – 1836 ) , who was a general in the Georgia militia and elected as the U . S . Congressman from Georgia . Links for each of their Find - a - Grave Memorials are included below , with additional state and spouse information , to help distinguish more clearly between them . This John Coffee is sometimes referred to as " John R . Coffee " . Some researchers are attempting to document the use of this middle initial in original sources . To date , he has been found to have signed his name " John Coffee " in original papers examined . Scholars do not believe he used the initial " R " . General John ( R . ) Coffee is buried in the Coffee Cemetery off SR 157 northwest of Florence , Alabama . The legendary Texas Ranger , John Coffee Hays , was his nephew . Hays became the greatest Texas Ranger in history , leading troops in battle from 1836 – 1848 , against the Comanche Tribe and the Mexican Army during the Mexican – American War . He surveyed the West , founding Oakland , California . In 1850 Hays was elected as the first Sheriff of San Francisco . Hays was born in Tennessee and raised at The Hermitage where Andrew Jackson resided .