Old times in Tennessee, with historical, personal, and political scraps and sketches, Part 27

Author: Guild, Jo. C. (Josephus Conn), 1802-1883
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Nashville, Tavel, Eastman & Howell
Number of Pages: 1012


USA > Tennessee > Old times in Tennessee, with historical, personal, and political scraps and sketches > Part 27


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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ing the General as Governor of the State years before, Mr. Hall expressed his satisfaction at being recognized, and wondered that the General should have remembered him. "Remember you," said Houston, " how can I ever forget you, sir, or any member of your family ? Did not your gallant brother die in my arms on the bloody field of San Jacinto ?"


HUMOR AND GALLANTRY.


Houston was visiting Nashville when quite a young man, just after he had received his commission as a Lieutenant in the United States Army. Walking along the sidewalk on the West side of the Public Square in his new and bright uniform, he passed two young ladies of great beauty, from Southwestern Vir- ginia, by the name of Kent. As he passed he touched his cap, although he did not know them, and at the same instant heard one of them whisper loudly to the other, " Who is that?" Turn- ing on his heel at once he raised his cap, bowed gracefully, and replied : " Lieutenant Houston, of the United States Army, ladies, at your service."


ANECDOTE THAT HOUSTON TOLD OF HIMSELF.


When Gen. Sam. Houston resigned the Governorship of Ten- nessee in consequence of some domestic infelicities, he went off to the Indian Nation and remained there two or three years. On his way back he crossed the Mississippi some thirty miles below Memphis and rode on horseback up along the river until night- fall, when he stopped where a tavern sign told him there was entertainment for man and horse, and asked of the man who stood in the doorway if he could get quarters for the night. He was told that he could if he would be content with a little common hog and hominy and would sleep on his own blanket before the fire. After retiring alongside of his host, stretched ont before the fire, their feet toasting at the blaze of nearly a half cord of wood that the immense fireplace contained, he thought he would have a little conversation with the old tavern-keeper. So he asked him whether his house stood in Tennessee or Mississippi, to which he replied, "in Tennessee, just over the Mississippi line." He then asked who was now Governor of Tennessee, and


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the reply was, " Governor Carroll." " And what sort of a Gov- ernor does he make, my friend ?" asked the General. "He makes a pretty good Governor-he was second in command to Gen. Jackson at the battle of New Orleans, and I reckon we shall elect him again." Desiring to know how he stood himself in the estimation of his host, he asked: " And who was your Governor before Carroll ?" " Oh ! our Governor before Carroll was Hous- ton-Sam. Houston ; he was all sorts of a fellow, was very much liked, made us an excellent Governor-but he disgraced himself and the State and ran off amongst the Indians."


The General said he asked no more questions, drew his blanket closer around him, dropped to sleep and slept soundly till sunrise. He said he found he had made so good an impression upon the old tavern-keeper that when he rode away in the morning he would not spoil it by telling him that he had entertained Sam. Houston.


ANOTHER ANECDOTE THAT HOUSTON TOLD OF HIMSELF.


Another anecdote which Gen. Houston used to tell upon him- self was this one :


Usually he made it a point, on his way North, to stop three or four days at Cairo to enjoy the fishing. On one occasion he had located himself on the stern guard of a wharf-boat, while a boy, bent on the same business, had taken position on a wood-boat moored a few feet off. Both were patiently awaiting results. At the interesting juncture of a bite at the boy's bait, Houston threw out his line, which became hopelessly entangled with that of the boy. There was a pause. Neither seemed to have a word fit for the occasion. At last Houston broke the silence.


"Sonny, go elsewhere and fish, and then we'll avoid entangling alliances."


"You blasted old short-coat," retorted the bud of promise, " go elsewhere yourself and fish."


"I apprehend that you are a very saucy boy," returned the Senator, " for whom there is by no means enough rods in pickle." " Now look here, old Skeezicks," cried the boy, fully agitated, "I don't want to quarrel with you, nor nobody like you. Your name is Sam. Dawson, and you live in Texas; and like every-


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body else, you stole a hoss, and had to go there ; and now you're putting on a big shine, you old thief, and calling yourself Sam. Houston." Saying which, this very amiable creature gave a sud- den lurch, and pulled the honorable gentleman's rod from his hands, and threw it into the river.


In relating this in his characteristic style, Houston would say : " I have met men in debate at the bar, on the stump, and upon the floor of Congress, but never was I so completely discomfited. The boy had decidedly the"best of me, and, from his looks, I know that when he said I stole a ' hoss,' in his heart of hearts he believed it."


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XII.


FELIX GRUNDY-A REMINISCENCE OF THE GREAT TENNES- SEE LAWYER.


FELIX GRUNDY will always rank among the greatest men this country has produced. He was Tennessee's greatest crimi- nal advocate, and he was the peer of any the United States has produced. He was not only a great lawyer, but was a powerful stump-speaker, and ranked with Henry Clay as an orator before he removed from Kentucky to Tennessee, which occurred about the year 1807. He had been a distinguished member of the Kentucky Legislature, a member of the convention that framed the constitution, and Chief Justice of that State. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee, and sustained the war of 1812 with great eloquence. He was a member of the Tennessee Legislature in 1820, and was the author of the relief measures adopted by that body for the purpose of mitigating the severity of the revulsion of 1819. He was elected to the United States Senate, and was a tower of strength in that body to Gen. Jackson's administration. He was Attorney General under Mr. Van Buren's administration, the duties of which he discharged with the same marked ability that he had brought to bear in every position he had accepted.


Judge Grundy was not what may be called a book-man or a case-lawyer. To his fine voice and inimitable action, there was added a brilliant intellect, through which ran a vein of strong common sense. He was good at repartee, and his wit fairly sparkled. He possessed in a marked degree the power to arouse and sway the passions of the heart, to excite sympathy or indig- nation, to parry the blows of an adversary, and to carry his point by a brilliant charge. He was a consummate judge of human nature, and this rendered him unrivaled in selecting a jury. He was unsurpassed in developing the facts of a case, and wonderful in the cross-examination of the witnesses introduced against his clients. He generally relied upon his associate coun-


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sel to bring into court the books containing the law of the case in which they were employed, and the law was read and com- mented upon by these associates. And then when Mr. Grundy came to close the case, so clear were his deductions, so striking his illustrations, so systematically would he tear to pieces the superstructure of the opposing counsel, and so vividly portray the right and justice for which he contended, that all who heard him regarded bim as the finest lawyer of that or any other age. So thoroughly did he carry the crowd with him, that he may be aptly likened to Paul when he made his great speech before King Agrippa, and extorted from that monarch the expression, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."


While I was reading law in Nashville in the year 1821, Judge Grundy and Wm. L. Brown were engaged on the same side in an ejectment case involving the construction of the phrase, "being in possession of the land under a deed or assurance of title founded on a grant," contained in the statute of limitations of 1796. Some Judges held that the words "founded on a grant" meant that the deed must be connected by a regular chain of title down to the grantee, while others held the mean- ing to be that the land must be granted, but the deed under which it was held need not be connected with the grant. This conflict of opinion rendered the present case all the more impor- tant. The proof was all heard, as also the title papers, and the case was ready for argument. Judge Grundy had expected to make the closing speech, as was usual with him in all cases in which he was employed, and had not examined the law and the decisions bearing upon the suit. This he had left for Judge Brown to do, intending to avail himself of that gentleman's re- search to enable him to make the closing argument. He re- quested Judge Brown to open the case, but he refused. Grundy appealed to Brown to open the argument, but the latter pointedly refused to do so. Judge Grundy was therefore compelled to open the case, and this was the only occasion, as was said at the time, that he was ever known to make an utter failure. If Judge Brown had opened with his clear and exhaustive exposi- tion of the law, he would have laid the foundation upon which Judge Grundy would have built a brilliant and masterly argu- ment. Judge Grundy was a great manager, and he relied for


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success more upon his knowledge of men, his brilliant wit, and his unrivalled eloquence, than upon the dry details of the law.


This much by way of introduction to the following account of a noted trial in which Judge Grundy appeared under peculiar circumstances, and in which he displayed his wonderful powers as an advocate. The account appeared originally in the St. Louis Republican :


"Felix Grundy, in his day and time, was beyond doubt a man of the finest legal abilities in the United States. * the 16th day of March, 1825, Palemon H. Winchester, a young lawyer of talent, fine ability, and of great promise, who had been indicted for the murder of Daniel H. Smith, at Edwards- ville, Ill., was tried for murder. The trial was one that created intense excitement and pervaded the public mind with the deep- est interest. Smith, the man who was killed, generally went by the name of Rarified, was a man of much humor and wit, and a great caricaturist. It was for some of these drawings made by Rarified Smith, that the quarrel between him and Winchester originated.


"Felix Grundy and Henry Starr appeared as counsel for the defendant, and Alfred Coles and Benjamin Mills, men of fine talents and education, conducted the prosecution. Hon. Samuel McRoberts presided as Judge. A large crowd of people attended the trial from the beginning to the close.


"The master-mind of Grundy was manifested at every move- ment throughout the trial. In selecting the jury the first ques- tion propounded by Grundy in every instance was to ask the juror, who had been sworn to answer questions, what State he was from; where he had been born and raised. And if the juror answered that he was from Vermont, Massachusetts, or from any other State than Tennessee, the counsel would tell him to stand aside and reject him. One juror who had been sworn to answer questions, in reply to the usual inquiry as to whether he had formed and expressed an opinion in regard to the case, said that he had. Grundy asked the juror where he was from, and he answered, " Tennessee." "We'll take him," said the able counsel, and he immediately took his seat as a juror to try the cause. In this manner the counsel for the defense succeeded in getting a jury of original Tennesseeans. Another part of the


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management on the part of the defense was to get Winchester's wife and children and all their relatives to come into court and range themselves in a row along the side of the defendant. At the head of this formidable phalanx of criers was seated Gov. Ninian Edwards, whose fine and commanding personal appear- ance, with his elegant, striking, intellectual face and venerable gray head gave effect to the picture, which was also heightened by the elegance of dress and neatness of apparel in which his Excellency was habited. Mr. Grundy, having thus made his ar- rangements and made the proper dispositions of his forces for the defense, so to speak, the trial began. After three days' trial the defendant was triumphantly acquitted, amidst plaudits and shouts.


" Mr. Ben. Mills, for the people, opened the case for the prose- cution. In doing so, he alluded, amongst other things, to the fact that Mr. Grundy, one of the most eminent lawyers in the United States, had been retained as counsel for the defendant, and had rode all the way from Nashville to Edwardsville on horseback in the middle of March, a distance of four hundred or five hundred miles, at the breaking up of the winter, when the frost was all out of the ground, his horse sinking to his knees in the mud almost every step of the way. This of itself should be taken as some evidence of the desperateness of the de- fendant's case; that a man of Mr. Grundy's great abilities and character, and at his age (he was then fifty-five years old), could not be expected or induced to encounter these hardships and per- sonal sufferings without being paid a very heavy compensation by way of fee, etc.


" When Mr. Grundy came to reply to this part of the speech of the prosecution, he said, amongst other things, that this state- ment of the prosecuting attorney was but another illustration of 'cold-blooded Yankees and Yankee character ;' that they looked upon 'money' as the moving power and 'consideration for hu- man actions' with all men as it was with themselves; that the 'cold-blooded, unfeeling, hard-hearted Yankees' could conceive of no higher motives of human action than 'money.' 'Thank God,' he said, 'that he had been bred and raised in a country- as they had not been-where honor and the nobler impulses of the heart moved and controlled the actions of men.' He went


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on to say that 'when the messenger came after me to Nashville and told me of the difficulty that Palemon had got into, I told him I could not go. I was sorry to hear of the trouble that had befallen the boy, but I could not go to Edwardsville to defend him. Winchester's children, the father of Palemon, and mine played together. They went to the same school. The families and children were attached to each other. I had resolved, gen- tlemen of the jury, not to go. I could not go. The whole fam- ily were greatly distressed to hear of the misfortune that had befallen Palemon, almost as much as if he had been one of our own children. At last,' said he, 'gentlemen of the jury, my little flaxen-haired daughter, Malvina, who went to school with Gen. Winchester's children, the father of Palemon, came and threw her arms around my neck where I sat, and burst into tears and said, "Pa, you must go."' As he said this, Mr. Grundy burst into tears and boo-hooed aloud, while his whole band and company of eriers and weepers blubbered aloud, which commu- nicated to the jury, all of whom cried. And in truth and in fact, there was hardly a dry eye in the court-room. This was one of the finest pieces of acting during the whole trial. As Mr. Grundy recovered himself, after wiping his eyes with his handkerchief, he said to the jury: 'Pardon me, gentlemen of the jury, this weakness. I do love my children, and this is why I am here to defend Palemon. From a consideration of feeling, of duty and affection, I was induced to come here to defend this case-the son of my old friend-and this is why I am here now. No money could have induced me to come.' Such scenes took place frequently during the whole trial.


"To my ancient and valued friend, the honorable and distin- guished Joseph Gillespie, so long the able and learned Judge of the Circuit Courts of Madison and St. Clair counties, in Illinois, who was present during this remarkable trial, I am indebted for many of its incidents and details. Among other things, Judge Gillespie said : 'Major Lee and an old man named Wilder both swore that they were in the room and saw Winchester with a knife in his hand approach Smith ; but they were both proved to have been so drunk as to be incapable of knowing what was going on, and Grundy's cross-examination completely riddled their testimony, so that 'it had no weight with the jury.' I'


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quote further from his honor, Judge Gillespie, who says: 'Win- chester was a very popular man. I remember the facts and sur- roundings of the case very distinctly. The impression made upon my mind was, that Grundy was the most lordly man I ever beheld. He made it appear that every right exercised by the prosecution was a generous concession on the part of the de- fense. One would think to hear him talk that he was giving away all the rights of his client to avoid controversy. He had an air and a manner which was absolutely overwhelming. When he discovered that a point was about to be ruled against him, he would arise with the most majestic and apparently sincere air imaginable, and, with a graceful waive of the hand, he would say to the other side: "Take it, gentlemen; take all. Any- thing to avoid trespassing longer upon the patience of this jury and this court. We can afford to concede everything your con- sciences will permit you to ask." I think he was the most con- summate actor I ever saw in a court-house. He was likewise a manager; he attended to the outside affairs as well as those in- side the bar. He had his auxiliaries as well posted as ever Na- poleon arranged his forces. Plaudits and tears always came in the right places. The witnesses are all dead, the Judge, the jury and the lawyers are all dead, and of the bystanders (so far as I know), - and I alone am left to tell the story.'


" With the story as told by Judge Gillespie, I close this piece. "JOHN F. DATBY.


"S. Louis, February 26, 1876."


CLAY AND GRUNDY.


The happy personal relations between Mr. Clay and Mr. Grundy were never seriously disturbed by their political differ- ences, and each frequently indulged in sallies of wit and humor at the expense of the other in their political speeches.


In the presidential campaign of 1840, Mr. Clay, Mr. Critten- den, and other leading Whig orators, visited Nashville, and held forth at a great barbecue prepared for the occasion. They came first into East Tennessee and crossed over the mountains. When speaking at Knoxville, Mr. Clay said when he came through Cumberland Gap into Tennessee one of the first questions he asked was, " Where is my old friend, Felix Grundy? And," he


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continued, " on being informed that he was away down in Ala- bama making speeches for Mr. Van Buren, I raised my hands and exclaimed, Ah, yes, still pleading the cause of criminals!"


When Mr. Grundy returned to Nashville he was invited to -address the people of Rutherford at Murfreesboro. He availed himself of the opportunity to say that he had seen the report of Mr. Clay's Knoxville speech in the newspapers, and regretted that he was not there to reply to it, or that he could not now make a reply in Mr. Clay's hearing. He said it was true he had acquired some reputation as a criminal lawyer, and expressed a belief that he still retained all his professional faculties; but he felt well assured if Mr. Clay were to be indicted and brought before a court of strict justice for all his political offenses, and he (Mr. G.) were to be retained as his counsel, it would prove to be another Bennett case !


This elicited a round of applause that made the welkin ring, for everybody seemed to know the fact that of the many causes of criminals managed by Mr. Grundy, he never lost but one, and that was the cause of a most notoriously guilty client by the name of Bennett, who had murdered a Mr. Hays in Wilson county. For many years the case was continued in the courts, and at last, by a change of venue, Bennett was convicted and hanged in Williamson county.


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XIII.


EXPLOITS OF MAJ. JOHN BUCHANAN, THE FOUNDER OF BUCHANAN'S STATION.


MAJ. JOHN BUCHANAN was born at Harrisburg, Pa., Janu- ary 12, 1759. His father was of Scotch-Irish descent. His mother's maiden name was Jane Trindle. The family consisted of three sons, John, Samuel, and Alexander; and two daughters, Sally, who married James Todd, and Nancy, who married James Mulherrin. This family removed from Harrisburg to North Carolina, but remained only a few years in that State. Thence they went to Kentucky, and settled where the town of Danville now stands. After remaining there four years, they, in company with a few friends, came to Tennessee, making the trip through the wilderness to the Cumberland river opposite the mouth of Lick Branch. It was in the early part of December, during a very cold season, and they found the river frozen over, but were compelled to wait until the ice was sufficiently hard to bear their weight before they could cross, which was finally effected on the 14th of December, 1778. They found Gen. James Robertson and family and one other family living in humble log-cabins on the bluff near where the county jail now stands, then called the Spout Spring, from which Spring (Church) street took its name. Gen. Robertson and Maj. Buchanan found in each other the elements for a confidence that ripened into a lasting friendship. The third log-cabin was soon erected for Maj. Buchanan, whilst accommodations were provided for the other members of the new accession to the settlement. Maj. Buchanan was a surveyor and hunter, and these pursuits constantly called him into the woods, thus enabling him to gain a thorough knowledge of the Indian character-their sagacity, their treachery, and their blood-thirsty purposes against the white settlers.


Robertson and Buchanan immediately set about erecting a fort for protection and defense against the depredations and at- tacks of the Indians, and shortly after its completion, Indian "sigus" were reported to have been seen near the fort. On the


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2d day of April, 1781, a desperate effort was made by the Indians to take this fort. A numerous body of Cherokee warriors came in the night and lay around in ambush. In the morning three of them came in sight, and fired at the fort and immediately re- treated. Nineteen horsemen in the fort at once mounted their horses, and, under the lead of Maj. Buchanan, followed them in a southerly direction. When they reached the steep and abrupt banks of the branch emptying into the river above the present city wharf (now known as Wilson's Spring branch), a few In- dians were seen on the opposite side of that stream hiding behind trees and making demonstrations as if preparing to give battle. It appears that this was only a ruse to decoy the men from the fort, for a considerable body arose from their concealment and fired upon the horsemen. The latter dismounted and gave them battle, and returned their fire with great alacrity. Another party of Indians lay concealed in the cedars ready when the fighting should commence at the branch to rush into the fort in the rear of the combatants. The horses ran back toward the fort, leav- ing their riders on foot to fight their way out as best they could. To guard against the expected assault from the Indians against those in the fort, its gates were closed, and preparations made for defense. Meantime the battle raged without. Retreat was cut off by the party concealed in the cedars, and the position of Maj. Buchanan and his men was extremely critical. The Indians were advancing upon them rapidly on either side, and there was no time for consultation and concert of action in whatever course it might have been thought best to pursue. It was a crisis when each man had to act upon his own judgment. Emptying the contents of his riffe in the breast of an advancing Indian, Maj. Buchanan rushed to the bluff at the river for the purpose of gain- ing shelter while re-loading his gun. An Indian having discov- ered his place of retreat, approached very cautiously to the edge of the bluff, and began to peer about in the hope of discovering the Major's hiding place. While thus engaged, Buchanan sent a ball crashing through his brain. Loading his gun again quick- ly, he started for the fort, but before reaching the brow of the bluff he discovered an Indian coming bounding like a frightened antelope in the direction where he stood, but apparently having his attention fixed in an opposite direction. The trusty rifle was


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again leveled and another red-skin fell before Buchanan's un- erring aim. While the Major was thus engaged, his companions were fighting with equal desparation, and quite a number of In- dians fell before their deadly aim. In this engagement five of Buchanan's men were killed, his brother Alexander being of the number, and two badly wounded. One of them (Isaac Lucas) had his thigh broken by a ball. His comrades had gotten within the fort, and the Indians rushed upon him to take his scalp. One of them running toward him, and being but a short distance from the supposed victim of his barbarous revenge, was fired upon and shot through the body by Lucas, who, with rifle well charged, was lying unable to rise from the ground. The Indian died in- stantly. Those in the fort in order to save Lucas, kept up a brisk fire upon the pursuing Indians, and finally drove them off, when Lucas was brought into the fort. "Among those who es- caped toward the fort," says Ramsey, " was Edward Swanson, who was so closely pursued by an Indian warrior as to be overtaken by him. The Indian punched him with the muzzle of his gun, and pulled trigger, when the gun snapped. Swanson laid hold of the muzzle, and wringing the lock to one side, spilled the priming from the pan. The Indian looked into the pan, and finding no powder in it, struck him with the gun-barrel, the muz- zle foremost; the stroke not bringing him to the ground, the In- dian clubbed his gun, and striking Swanson with it near the lock, knocked him down. At this moment Maj. Buchanan, seeing the certain death that impended his comrade, gallantly rushed from the fort to the rescue of Swanson. Coming near enough to fire, he discharged his rifle at the Indian, who gritting his teeth on receiving its contents, retired to a stump near at hand. Buch- anan brought Swanson off, and they both got into the fort with- out further injury. From the stump to which the wounded war- rior retired, was found after the Indian forces had withdrawn, a trail made by the body dragged along the ground much marked with blood. When the Indians fired upon the horsemen at the branch, the party of them lying in ambush in the cedars, rose and marched toward the river, forming a line between the com- batants and the fort. Meantime, when the firing between the dismounted horsemen and the enemy bad commenced, the horses took fright, and ran in full speed on the South side of the Indian




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