USA > Tennessee > Old tales retold; or, Perils and adventures of Tennessee pioneers > Part 14
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*Col. A. S. Colyar acknowledges error in his "Life of Andrew Jackson," in attributing this and other incidents to Thomas Kennedy Gordon instead of to Capt. John Gordon, to whom they properly belong.
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with the adroit Manquerez he must possess the qual- ities of a diplomat, and above all, he must be one used to seeing everything at a glance, and remembering what he saw. For this delicate mission Jackson's choice fell on his trusted friend, Capt. John Gordon, of the spies, a man described by an early historian of Tennessee as being "distinguished for never-failing presence of mind as well as for the purest integrity of principle," a man whose career as a frontier scout fitted him to take advantage of whatever circumstances might arise, and one, moreover, whose spirit was equal to Jackson's own. The iron-willed general had more than once tried issues with the border captain and had been obliged to yield, as when in a certain hot argument between the two an angry expression of Jackson's had carried offense to Gordon. Promptly Gordon unbuckled his sword (Jackson's gift to him) and returned it to the giver with the remark that as he proposed to settle the question as between man and man, he did not choose to be under obligations for a gift. To which Jackson, regaining his self-command, replied : "Take back your sword, Gordon. I cannot spare you, and our country cannot spare either of us."
On another occasion the captain of the spies, re- turning at night from scouting duty cold and wet from exposure, built a fire on the outskirts of the camp with which to dry his clothing, not knowing that General Jackson had given strict orders that no fires should be lighted that night to attract attention of the enemy. The general, quickly detecting the blaze, asked who had disobeyed his orders. On being told that it was John Gordon, of the spies, he sternly said: "Go tell Gordon to put out that fire at once."
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His messenger soon returned with Gordon's answer : "If I am not afraid to sit alone in the light on the outside of the camp, General Jackson should not fear one distant fire when he is surrounded by his army." The reflection on his commander's courage was per- mitted to pass unnoticed, and the solitary camp fire was not extinguished so long as it pleased Gordon to let it burn.
A picturesque figure in the olden times was this small, dark-bearded man who was an object of pe- culiar dread to the Indian warriors. He was called by them their evil spirit, and was in all, or nearly all, of the Indian battles that took place on the Cum- berland frontier. Many were the tales told in cabin and camp of his daring exploits, and his unfailing good judgment and sincerity of purpose made his an hon- ored name among the pioneers. It was such men as Gordon, Rains, Martin, Maury, and Williams who gave the people security in their border land homes by constantly watching along the frontier for Indians, ready at a moment's notice to start out after bands who entered the settlements to murder and plunder.
Before sending Captain Gordon to Pensacola, Gen- eral Jackson had become convinced that, although Manquerez represented a government which continued to give our own government assurances of its neutral- ity, he was actually making Pensacola a depot of sup- plies to the British army, and was sheltering war- ships in the harbor. With the object of holding Man- querez to account through his messenger, Jackson charged Gordon to say to the governor that he de- sired to be told plainly if he, as the representative of Spain, "meant to pursue a strange, concealed course
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which under the garb of friendship cloaked all the realities of war." Jackson did not expect any other than the evasive reply he received in return, but he counted upon Gordon to use his eyes and ears while in the town, and find out certainly whether or not the governor was acting a double part. He desired his envoy to make a thorough examination of the place.
To do so in the most effectual manner the frontier scout planned to enter Pensacola at night. This he did; and once inside, he galloped boldly through va- rious streets, observing closely, and taking rapid men- tal notes as he went. So audacious was the proceed- ing that he passed unchallenged, no one suspecting who or what he was until he had arrived by his cir- cuitous route at the governor's mansion. It did not occur to the garrison that he was other than one of themselves with dispatches for headquarters. In this way the messenger of the American general saw much it was not intended he should see, as also in his dip- lomatic interview with Manquerez he obtained much more full and satisfactory information than it pleased the governor to communicate. Among other signif- icant facts Gordon noted that a British flag was then, at the time he was in Pensacola, flying on one of the Spanish forts. He also saw one hundred and fifty or two hundred British officers and soldiers, together with a park of artillery and about five hundred Indians under drill of those officers armed with new muskets and dressed in the English uniform. All of this and much more which it was of importance for Jackson to know he communicated to his general. General Jackson become convinced through Gordon's report that active war was soon to be made by Great Britain
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in the lower country. With the object of putting that region in a proper state of defense, he marched his army at once to Mobile. A descent on the coast by the British fleet was hourly expected to take place. Where the blow would be struck no one could tell. It was only certain, in Jackson's opinion, that unless Pensacola was in the hands of the Americans it was hopeless to think of protecting the southern coast. From Mobile he sent another messenger to Manque- rez taxing him with his duplicity in a long letter which he addressed to the governor. "All this is done," wrote the American general, "while you are pretend- ing to be neutral. You cannot be surprised then, but, on the contrary, will provide a fort in your town for my soldiers and Indians should I take it into my head to pay you a visit. I beg you not to consider me any more as a diplomatic character unless so proclaimed to you from the mouths of my cannon."
Shortly afterwards he gave his famous order to General Coffee and his Tennesseeans to "Rout the British out of Pensacola," and immediately moved his army upon the place. With his troops drawn up in front of the city, he demanded an immediate surrender of the forts of Barancas, St. Rose, and St. Michael, which was refused by Manquerez. Whereupon Jack- son's next order to General Coffee was: "Then turn out the soldiers."
In less than six hours the Americans had captured all the various fortifications of the city, driven the ships out of the bay, and had every Briton in the vicinity seeking the protection of the Gulf of Mexico. The date of this important event was November 7, 1814.
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ANDREW JACKSON, the man who won the battle of New Orleans on the eighth of January, 1815, hated the British with all the energy of his strong nature. He remembered bitterly that both his brothers had lost their lives in fighting the British in the Revolu- tionary War, and that his mother, broken in spirits, had soon afterwards died while helping to care for the American prisoners and wounded; and he could never forget the time when, as a fourteen-year-old boy, he had himself been captured by Tarletan's sol- diers and ordered to black the boots of a ruffianly officer who, upon his refusal to do the menial task, hacked him across the head with his sword. All his life long, after these early experiences in South Car- olina, Andrew Jackson cherished animosity against the English nation. The thought that Britons should ever again attempt to invade America was enough at any time to stir him to anger. Thus his indignation was great when, in December, 1814, he learned that a large British force under Gen. Sir Edward Paken- ham had crossed the seas and were anchored off New Orleans. Evidently they meant to capture that un- protected port. Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson resolved to send them back to their own country in defeat. "I will assail them on their first landing," he declared, "and I will perish sooner than they shall reach the
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city." If he had any misgivings, he locked them in his own bosom. Publicly, he took a solemn oath that a tyrant's heel should never again find footing in the land of liberty, and forthwith hurried with his Ten- nessee and Kentucky volunteers to drive back the in- vaders. From experience, Jackson's soldiers knew that with him to resolve was to perform. Since the successful ending of the Creek War and his reduction of Pensacola, they believed Old Hickory could whip any force on earth, and were eager to help him carry out his plans. He had only to express the wish, or give a hint, and a crowd of volunteers offered for any service he might require. But the belief that he could defeat the enemies who now threatened the southern coast was confined to Jackson's followers alone. To all others his chance for victory seemed small. Why, there were fourteen thousand British veterans come from recent victories over the trained armies of Europe to meet less than twenty-five hun- dred frontier "squirrel hunters" under a "backwoods general." At the bare situation cautious statesmen stood aghast. A thrill of anxiety swept over the United States. Defeat was counted a certainty by all but Jackson's little army. The lower country seemed doomed. The Mississippi River, all important to its prosperity, must inevitably fall under foreign control.
In New Orleans, particularly, terror prevailed over every other sentiment. The citizens, knowing the cus- tom of the British army to pillage, burn, and desecrate wherever they were triumphant, looked for the worst. Besides the fears of the citizens, Jackson had also to contend with treachery in the city. Many of the mixed French and Spanish population, being used to
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the rule of kings, were opposed to a free form of gov- ernment. They did not sympathize with the patriotic resolves of the American general. Others were mere- ly faint-hearted; and still others, who could see no reason to expect success, were in despair. The tim- orous, the disloyal, and the pessimistic elements of the population all joined in begging Jackson not to excite the anger of the British by useless opposition. They urged that it would be better to submit in the outset than to fight and endanger the safety of the city.
But to give up without a struggle was a thing An- drew Jackson could not do. Fortunately, his Ten- nesseeans under Carroll and Coffee believed in him thoroughly. They were eager to obey the orders of a general who had won their confidence in the Creek campaign. Buoyed by their fidelity and relying as well on the support of the true-hearted natives of Louisiana and Mississippi who had joined his stand- ard, General Jackson was able to beat down the oppo- sition of those false citizens whom he had come to save. Upheld by the faithful few, he ignored dis- loyalty in the many, and went to work to fortify against the enemy.
Being sure of the justice of his cause and believing firmly that God was on his side, he could afford to be calmly hopeful. He could even find amusement in the boastful taunts of the invaders. When the Brit- ish commander, with light presumption, sent word to Jackson, saying, "I shall do myself the honor to take my Christmas dinner in New Orleans," Old Hickory only smiled and answered with grim humor, "Maybe so, but I shall do myself the honor to sit at the head of the table."
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In order to stimulate the patriotic ardor of all classes, Jackson made stirring, direct appeals to the public. Upon one occasion he said to them as a whole: "Cit- izens of the United States, the enemy you are to con- tend with are the men your fathers fought and con- quered." To the French he cried: "Natives of France, descendants of Frenchmen, they are the English, the eternal, the hereditary enemies of your ancient country." And to the Spaniards of New Or- leans he significantly pointed out that a British com- mander had recently dealt treacherously with his Span- ish allies at Pensacola. On the other hand, he spoke encouragement to the loyal men of Louisiana in the words: "Louisianians, your general rejoices to wit- ness the spirit that animates you. You are fighting for your property and lives-for that which is dearer than all, your wives and children." And he sent a special messenger to the women in the city who had given themselves over to alarm, saying: "Tell them not to fear. The British shall not enter the city."
Some felt greatly reassured by his promise, but the majority of the people were harassed by fears. All who could get away prepared to fly at a moment's warning. Household goods were packed, jewels and money were hidden, everything was in readiness for flight, when on the twenty-third of December Gen- eral Jackson met the British as they landed, and gave them their first repulse. Loud was the rejoicing in New Orleans. Equally great was the surprise. It was hardly believable that Pakenham's veterans had been checked by the backwoodsmen under Jackson. That being so, however, it began to seem possible that
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the general might keep his word to them, and rid the country of the redcoats.
From that day the citizens began to watch the movements of the little army of Americans with min- gled feelings of curiosity and admiration. They could not but applaud the energy with which ditches were dug and breastworks thrown up some distance below the city ; and they saw with astonishment the long line of earthworks which ranged in height and width from five feet high and four feet thick to eight feet high and twenty feet thick, stretching across the swampy plain at right angles from the river. A number of cannon, including a large thirty-two pounder, had been planted at intervals along the embankment. In the center, near the great gun, rose a tall flagstaff from which floated the "stars and stripes," visible to friends and enemies of freedom alike on both sides of the river. Behind the barricade was a collection of tents and huts which served as sleeping quarters for the army, and from the top of each streamed a bit of col- ored cloth, an improvised flag, emblem, or ensign. Around the whole, Jackson had stretched a cordon of pickets with strict orders that no person whatever should pass in or out; for there was good reason to fear treachery both within and outside the camp. It was important that the enemy should not find out that the Americans had only about twenty-one hundred effective fighting men to defend the place, and above all, they must not learn that many of these soldiers had no firearms at all, and that the guns of a great number were old, broken, and almost useless. Yet despite Jackson's precautions, a traitor in the camp contrived to steal out and make his way to the British
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army. Seeking the enemy's headquarters, the de- serter informed General Pakenham that Jackson had but few available troops. He also advised him that the weakest point along the American barricade, and the place where an attack should be made, was in the center, near the flagstaff. For there, he said, Jackson had stationed the new volunteer riflemen from Ten- nessee and Kentucky, under Carroll and Adair. The few soldiers of the regular army who were in the American camp were posted with the Mississippi and Louisiana troops on the right, and General Coffee's veterans of the Creek war were on the left.
Not slow to take the hint, the British general pre- pared at once to attack the Americans. On the 7th of January, 1815, his camp became the scene of un- usual activity. Couriers rode hither and thither, ord- nance was wheeled into position, and field uniforms were gotten ready for immediate wear. Among offi- cers and men the general feeling was that of over- confidence. Hardly a doubt was felt that on the morrow they would take the American breastworks by storm and plant the English banner on its summit, where then waved the flag of freedom. Already the soldiers were planning their triumphant entry into New Orleans, and bragging in advance of the rob- beries and riot in which they would indulge as victors. In the tents of the officers, particularly, on that night before the memorable 8th of January, unseemly jests and boasts over the wine cup showed the spirit which animated the invaders .* Well might the wom-
*"Booty and beauty" was the watchword of the British army in the battle of the 8th of January and the toast of the officers on the night of the 7th.
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en and children in New Orleans be on their knees, as they were, praying that Andrew Jackson's arm might be strengthened in battle. The great captain and his handful of men were their sole earthly reliance.
The American outposts having discovered that the enemy were about to move, preparations for earnest defense were made at once. Arms were cleaned, cart- ridges counted out, flints adjusted, muskets and rifles reloaded with care, cannon balls were also placed in quantities, within convenient reach of the gunners, and a bushel or two of iron fragments and musket balls were heaped near the large thirty-two pound gun. There was no hilarity in the camp of the Americans on the night of the 7th. Everywhere were seen grave, serious faces. The men were being soberly in- structed in their duties by the officers. And just before dark Jackson himself walked along the lines giving the usual advice of the pioneer commanders : "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." He warned his soldiers to be watchful against surprise during the night, saying to them: "If you must sleep, sleep upon your arms." He exhorted them to be steadfast in fighting for liberty, "without which," he said, "country, life, and property are not worth pos- sessing," and added resolutely: "Our country must and shall be defended. We will enjoy our liberties, or die in the last ditch." As you shall see, Providence favors the brave. The historical account of the bat- tle which followed is as marvelous as if it were a tale of fiction.
The American soldiers lay all night on their arms, many of them stretched on the wet, marshy ground. There was not much sleep behind the barricades. Few
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of the officers had even closed their eyes when at dawn next morning they saw a rocket shoot skyward from the British camp on the left, illuminating the heavy fog that had gathered above the earth. Then another rocket soared on the right, near the river. It was the signal for attack. Presently the American outposts descried a dim, red line advancing toward them through the mist. A moment more there came the British, charging so rapidly that the pickets barely had time to hurry in and escape capture. In solid column, sixty or seventy abreast, Pakenham's vet- erans were being pushed forward. In the lead were the famous Highlanders in brave array. With the force of a catapult they were hurled against the Amer- ican center, where the Tennessee riflemen were sta- tioned. At the same time the British batteries opened fire. Showers of bomb and ball poured upon our line. All the while the mist was lighted by the trail of Congreve rockets in every direction, a new device in war to frighten the timid, which had no effect what- ever on the backwoods soldiers. As the redcoats advanced at a steady pace toward the staff that upheld the stars and stripes our men gave three defiant . yells. Still not a musket was fired, not a fuse was touched until the enemy were within two hundred yards of the breastworks. Then Carroll gave the word of com- mand, "Fire!" and a noise burst forth that can scarce- ly be described. It has been said that "rolling, burst- ing, echoing sounds" tore through the air. The earth seemed to quake and the fog to bellow in the uproar. The American breastworks had become a blazing, sputtering line of light, and the cannon ranged along the parapet seemed to have become a row of fiery
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furnaces. From the center of all, the thirty-two pounder, loaded with musket balls and scrap iron, emptied its full charge into the head of the advancing column. Instantly two hundred of the invaders were laid level with the plain. Mortal troops could not stand their ground in the face of such a fire. The British ranks broke, and the veteran regulars who boasted that they were the conquerors of Europe fell back in confusion before the work of the flintlock rifles and the singularly loaded cannon. General Pak- enham rushed to the rescue in person. He rode gal- lantly between his men and danger; he waved his sword aloft and called to them to come on, and suc- ceeded in rallying them for a second charge. The British fought boldly, however unworthy their mo- tives, that day. Troops who are used to victory often display valor even in a bad cause.
In their next onset the solid mass of infantry moved in a brisk run toward the embankment. Reaching it, a few of their officers dared to scale the ramparts in their reckless courage. But they met with steadfast resistance from the men behind the barricades. The sharpshooters remained unexcited, and took deliberate aim with their antiquated guns.
There was no pause in their continued volleys of musketry, no interlude in the crack of small arms and artillery. The firing was so arranged by the officers that as one party of marksmen discharged their guns and retired to reload another set came forward and fired, each loading and shooting in turn, so that there might not be a break in the continuous firing nor an interval in the destruction of the British. Five hun- dred and forty of the famous Highlanders fell before
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Carroll's men alone-slain by those undisciplined vol- unteers they had affected to despise. Gen. Sir Ed- ward Pakenham had been shot, and was dying in the arms of his aid-de-camp. All along the line the carnage was great. It was no longer possible for the British to struggle. They had utterly failed in their attempt to carry the earthworks. Seeing the hopeless- ness of their case, they fled the field, leaving their dead and dying behind, carpeting the earth with scarlet coats. The flag of freedom which Andrew Jackson loved so well had been preserved unharmed by the valor of his men. It floated in victory over twenty- six hundred dead and wounded Britons-and only thirteen Americans, all told, had been injured.
While the enemy were still fleeing in confusion a handsomely uniformed officer from their ranks with a trumpeter and a soldier bearing a white flag advanced to within three hundred yards of the earthworks and halted. A shrill blast on the bugle drew all eyes to the group. The American soldiers crowded the par- apet through curiosity to see them, and officers were sent out to inquire what was their errand. It proved to be a formal proposal for an armistice from Gen- eral Lambert, Pakenham's successor in command. The request was granted, and several days were hu- manely spent by the Americans in helping to relieve the sufferings of their wounded enemies.
Jackson behind his well-arranged earthworks had succeeded in repulsing an overwhelming force, but, as he himself said, his "best defense was a rampart of high-minded and brave men." Nor did he fail to at- tribute the chief glory of the day to the Almighty Power who, as he firmly believed, had guided him
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to victory. Although a complete conqueror, Jackson did not think it prudent with his small force to pur- sue the British. Owing to their superior numbers, he was forced to content himself with remaining in safety behind the breastworks until they retired to their ship- ping and sailed for England. Before they left, how- ever, they themselves punished the deserter who had betrayed the Americans, for they believed that he had willfully deceived them and led them into a death trap by falsely telling them that the weakest part of Jackson's defenses was in the center, where Carroll's Tennesseeans were posted. Under this delusion they hanged him on a tree in plain sight of both armies.
On the 20th of January the victorious army en- tered New Orleans amid the plaudits of the grateful citizens. Women kneeled in Jackson's path as he rode at the head of the troops, maidens strewed flow- ers on his way, and gray-haired men with streaming eyes called down blessings on his head. On the twenty-third the conqueror, leading the way for a long procession that followed, proceeded to the ca- thedral, where public thanks were rendered as due to the Giver of all victories. With His help Andrew Jackson had saved the city ; he had shielded the inhab- itants from robbery and dishonor, and, above all, he had convinced the world that foreign tyrants can never conquer free America.
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