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‘Ccngrropioual.
In Sknatk, February 24, 1819.
Mr. Lacoi k, inmi the committee appointed
in pursuant c of the resolution ol the senate ot
the 18th Dcccinbei las.; “Tnat tne message of
the president and dot iiments relative to tne Se
minoiic war, lie referred o a select committee,j
avoo s, ali have authoiity, if necessary, to send
so. poisons and papers; that said committee in
q> he relative to the advance of tiie United Slates’
tioops into West Honda; whether tne officers in
command at Eensacoit and St. Mai k's w ere ame
nable to, and under the control of Spain; and
particularly, what circumstance s existed, to au
thorize or justify the com manning genetal in
taking possession of those posts"—reported:
That they have under the authority conferred
cn them, called Hr and examined persons and,
pamns. Tiie testimony obtained is herewith
submitted. Tne committee, after the most raa-’
Imv and dispassionate examination of the sub- ’
ject, offer for tne consideration of tne senate the
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following narrative ol’ facts, and the opinions and
and duclions cleai ly aiising from, and growing out
of, tne facts thus presented. On the origin of
the hostilities between tne United Slates and the
K. minolic Indians, the committee ask leave to re
mark, that tne different savage tribes living with
in and on the borders of the Florida?;, denomina
ted S minolic Indians, were principally fugitives
from the moi e northern ti ibes, resident within tiie
limi sol the U. States. Alter the treaty of 1814,
with tiie Creek Indians, a considerable addition
v s made to the number of those fugitives;
as the Indians who were dissatisfied with tiie pro
visions ol that treaty, took refuge in lh< Floridas;
cherishing, there tan be little doubt, feelings of
hostility to the United Stales. ’These feelings
se m to have been strengthened by the infiucncc
ol foreign emissari. s who had taken up thcii re
sidence among tin m; among w hom, as the most
conspicuous, were Alexander Arbuthnot and
1, bel tC. Ambrister. In this state of things, it
appears that the executive department of the
government deemed it necessary, for the securi
ty ol lhe frontier, to establish a line of forts near
tiie southern boundary of the United States, and
to occupy tiiose fortifications with portions of the
regular forces, and by these means peace was
maintained with the Indians until the spring or
summer of 18 17, when the regular forces were
withdrawn from the posts of the Geoigia fron
tier, and concentrated at Fort Montgomery, on
the Alabama river, a considerable distance west
of the Georgia line. Hut it seems that about
this time a border warfare was commenced be
tween the Seniinolie Indians and the frontier in
habitants of Georgia. It is difficult to determine
with certainty, who commenced those hostilities,
or on whom the greatest injuries were inflicted.
General Gaines, however, demanded a surren
der of the Indians who had committed outrages
on the frontier ol Georgia. With this demand
th. y refused to comply, alleging thar the first
and greatest aggressions had been the
white men. In consequence of this uctusab gen
cr . Gaines was authorised by the of
war, at his discretion, to la move the Indians, &tiil
rt mlining on the lands ceded to the United
by t:.e treaty made with the Creeks in 1814: m
s< doing he is told that it might be propoi to re
tain some of them as hostages, until reparation
w as made for the depredations committed by tne
Indians. In pursuance of this discretionary au
thority, general Gaines ordered a detachment of
near 800 men, under the command of major
Twiggs, to surround and take an Indian village,
called Fowl Town, about 1 t miles from Fort
Scott, and near the Florida line. This detach
ment arrived at Fowl Town in the night, and the
Indians taking the alaim, and flying to an adja
cent swamp, were fired on by the detachment,
a and one man and one woman killed. Two Indi
ans were made prisoners. The detachment re
turned to Fort Sc ott. A day or two afteinvaids,
as stated by captain M‘lntosli, who was of the
party, about the same number of troops paid a
second visit to the same village, (as he states,)
fi r the purpose of obtaining property. While
loading their w aggons with corn, and collecting
horses and cattle, they were fired upon by tne
Indians, and a skirmish ensued, in w hich a small
loss was sustained on both sides. It is stated by
captain Young, the topographical engineer, that
this town contained about 45 Indian w a. i iors, be
sides women and c Ulrcn.
A few days after the affair of Fowl Town, iieut.
Scott, with a detachment of 40 men, 7 women,
and some children, ascending tue Appaiacni
ct la, with clothing and supplies, for the garrison
at Fort Scott, w hen vvitnin a few miles of that
p.acc, was attacked by a party of Indians; hint
st if and his whole pattv fell victims to their fury,
except six men, who made their escape, and one
woman made prisoner.
From this time the war became more serious;
the Indians in considerable numbers, were em
bodied, and an open attack was made on Fort
Scott. General Gaines with about GOO rcgulai
soidieis, was confined to the garrison. In this
state ol tilings, information having been commu
nicated to tiie war department, genetal Jackson
was ordered to take tne field: lie was advised ol
the regular and militia force, amounting to 1800
men, provided for tfiat service, and the estimated
force by general Gaines, of the enemy, ? v sa:d to
be 2800 strong;) and directed, if he should con
sider th.e force provided insufficient to beat the
enemy, to (tall on the governors of the adjoining
.states for sujportions of the militia as he might,
think rc'iu; j, loj On the receipt of this order,
general Jack*, K of observing th.e orders
of the dcp^Hfc^n v COi r, by railing on the ;;m -
ernor of S- -yJN ash\
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@HI H Htib.
BB m • - , „ -
I utmost alacrity, volunteered their services, from
the states ol Tennessee and Kentucky, and re
paired to his standard. Officers were appointed
to command this corps, by the general himself,
or by other persons, acting under his authority.
Tims organized, they were mustered into the
service ol'tiic United States.
About the time general Jackson was organ
izing this detachment of volunteers in the state
of Tennessee, or perhaps previously thereto,
general Gaines was likewise employed in laising
forces among the Creek Indians. There was
this difference in the two cases: general Jackson
raised 1 is army in disregard of positive orders;
general Gaines, without orders, took upon him
self the authority of raising an army of at least
1600 Creek Indians; appointing their officers,
w ith a brigadier general at their head, and like
wise mustering this force into the service of the
United Slates.
While yohr committee feel a pleasure in ap
plauding the zeal and promptitude that nave
1 marked the military conduct of these general
officers, on many former occasions, they vvodld
feel themselves wanting in their duty to the sen
ate and the nation, if they did not express their
decided disapprobation ol the conduct of the com
manding generals in the steps they took to raise
and organize the force employed on tiiis occa
sion. Tncrc was no law in existence that au
thorised even the president of the United States
to raise or accept the services of volunteers. —
The law passed for that purpose had expired in
the year 1815. The constitution of the United
States gives to congress, exclusively, the power
of raising armies, and to the president and senate
the power of appointing the officers to command
those armies, when raised. The constitution
iikewise, gives congress power to provide for
calling forth the militia to execute the laws of
the union—to suppress insurrections, and to re
pel invasions; but reserves to the states, respect
ively, the appointment of the officers. In con
tortin'y with the last recited provision of the con
stitution, the congress of the United States have
passed laws authorising the president, when the
contingencies above alluded to should happen,
to call on the governors,’or any militia officers,
of the respective states, for such portion of the
militia as he might deem requisite for the occa
sion; and, in strict observance of these laws, was
general Jackson ordered to call on the governors
of the states adjacent to the seat of war, for the
requisite militia force.
It is with regret that the committee are com
pelled to declare, that they conceive general
i Jackson to have disregarded the positive orders
of the department of war, the constitution and
laws; that he has taken upon himself not only the
exercise of those powers delegated to congress,
as the sole legislative authority of the nation, and
to the president anti the senate, as it relates to the
appointments, but of the power which had been
expressly reserved to the states in the appointment
of the officers of .he militia; a power the more
valuable to the states, because, as they had sur
rendeied to the general government the revenues
and physical force of the nation, they could cr.lv
look to the officers of the militia as a seem itv
against the possible abuse of the delegated pov, -
cr. The committee find tiie melancholy fuel,
before them, that military officers, even at this
early stage of this republic, have without the
shadow of authority, raised an army of at lea ,
2500 men, and mustered them into the service
of the United States. Two hundred and thirty
officers have been appointed, and their rank es
tablished, from an Indian brigade general down
to the lowest subaltern of a company. To whom
were those officers accountable for their conduct?
Not to the president of the United States, for it
will be found that it w as not considered necessary
even to furnish him with a list of their names;
and not until the payrolls were made out, and pay
ment demanded, were the persons known to the
department of war. And in this place it is pro
per to observe, that general Jackson seemed to
consider those officers es his own creation, com
petent to discharge all the functions of officers
appointed by tne authority of the general or state
governments, for we find five of them detailed
afterwards to sit on a general court martial, on a
trial ofi'ifc or death, Might not, on tire same
principles, general Jackson have tried, condemn
ed, and executed, any officer of the Georgia mili
tia, by the sentence of a court martial, composed
of officers created by him, and holding tlieir as
sumed authority by the tenor of his will?
Your committee wiil dismiss this branch of
the subject, by observing that, consistently with
tire character and genius of our government, no
officer, however high or exalted his station, can
be justified lor an infraction of the constitution;
it is an offence against the sovereignty of the na
tion, this sovereignty being vested in lire great
body of the people. The constitution is the writ
ten expression of tlieir will, and above the con
trol ot all the public functionaries combined.
And when that instrument has been violated, the
people alone have power to grant the indemnity
for its infraction; and all that can be said in fa
vor of the officer who transcends his constitution
al powers, must be taken not in justification of
the act, but in mitigation of the enVnrity of the
offence committed. WithjJiis viewVf the sub
ject, which they conceive tube a ci\rhct one,
tire committee have in’ vain sought for ah excuse
for the commanding general. lie lias stated in
his letter to the secretary of w ar, assuming the
power togjudge for the national legislature, that
a voluntcci force of mounted gun men, w ould be
the least expensive, and the most efficient. His
■ duty w as to execute the orders of his superior of
fice is, not to disobey them; to observe and en
j force the laws, not violate them. Obedience and
’ subordination, are the first and highest duties of
; a soldier, and no one knew better tiie truth of,
and the necessity for observing this maxim, than
the officer in question. For the truth of tiiis ob
suvation we have hit; own declaration. In nis
dime of tn&e menu 11 ’}’ 20th J * uu&v >> \
I acctr
nffiT ■-
11ft 18, he says, “you? letter, enclosing your gen- 1
I eral order of the 29th ultimo, nas been received:
like yourself, I have no other feelings io gratify,
than those connected with the public good, and
it gives me pleasure to find we coincide in those
opinions calculated to produce it. Responsibility
now rests where it should, on the officer issuing
the order; and the principle is
calculated to insure tiiat subordination so neces
sary to the harmonious movement ot every part,
of the military machine.”
It is to be regretted, that an officet who scent
ed to be so perfectly acquainted with vvnat be
longed to the duty of otners, saouid nave been so
totally regardless or unconscious of his own, and
while the committee are willing toa.imit that the
volunteer forces called into serv ice by gen. Jack
son, were more efficient and less expensive tnan
the militia, had he confined himself to the usufl
proportion of officers—this, they conceive,
not be urged as an argument in favor of eftipioy
ing them, or plead in justification of the unlaw
ful act; for if these reasons be considered con
clusive, and should be acquiesced in, they wili lie
applied with encreased force, (fortified by this
precedent) in ail future wars; an army of regu
lars will be considered (as they really are,) more
efficient and less expensive than either the volun
teers, if authorised by law, or the militia; and
the officer at the head of such army, (acting on
the principles before stated, and encouraged by
the acquiescence of the nation,) may dispense
with the militia altogether, and increase the re
gular army to any extent that folly or ambition
may suggest; and all this under the plea of ne
cessity. The committee can scarcely imagine
a possible case that may occur in a future war,
where the necessity will be less strong than in
the present. This war was waged when the Uni
ted States were at peace with ail the world, ex
cept this miserable undisciplined banditti of “de
luded Indians,” and fugitive slaves, their whole
strength, when combined, not exceeding 1000
men; opposed to whom, (previous to gen. Jack
son’s taking the command,) and under gen.
Gaines, were a force of 1800 regulars and mili
tia, besides the 1500 friendly Indians, illegally
subsidized by the last mentioned general. What
then, in this state of the case, becomes of the
plea of necessity? And if it be a (knitted in tnis
cash, to justify or palliate an aet of military usur
pation, tiie committee would anfßousiy inquire
where it is to be disallowed or denied? And here
the commitee, having pledged themselves faith
fully to disclose facts, and impartially to draw
conclusions, beg leave to remai k, that the con
duct of the commanding general, in raising tiiis
volunteer corps, was approbated by the war de
partment, as will appear by the letter of the se
cretary, dated the 29th day of January, 1818;
and it is but justice to the department to slate,
that it was not until the officers that had assisted
in thus officering and organizing tnis corps, were
examined by the committee, that they were ap
prised of the illegality of tne measure; sot thtu e
is nothing to be found in gen. Jackson’s letters
on this subject, to the secretary of war, %f the
12th, 13th, and 20th of February, ■KH\ from
j which it can be fairly inferred, that he
! pointed a single officer. Indeed, it would sfepnj,
.rcra a fair interpretation of those letters, iVff,
the officers, at least , were of the regular miiitia
es the states, and that the only depai lure fiom his
orders by tiie general, was his having called on
the subordinate officers of the militia, instead of
tue governor of the state of Tennessee, and his
preference of mounted men to infantry. And
it will also appear, from the letters aforesaid, that
had the department of war disapproved of this
conduct, and determined to countermand the or
der of gen. Jackson in raising this force, no order
to that effect could have reached him before he
had arrived at the seat of war, and of course the
army might have been disbanded in sight of the
enemy, and the objects of the campaign thereby
jeopardized, and perhaps defeated.
The committee will next take notice of the o
perations of the army in the F loridas, whither
they were authorised to pursue the enemy; and,
connected with tiiis authority, it was enjoined on
gen. Gaines, to v\ horn the first order to tnis effect
was given, that in case the enemy took refuge
under a Spanish garrison, not to attack them
there, but to report the fact to the secretary of
war; and the observance of this order, the com
mittee conceive, was equally obligatory on gen.
Jackson, who succeeded to the command—at
least it must have clearly evinced the wili of the
secretary o r war on that point, and how far this
injunction was observed, will be found by what
followed. It appears that gen. Jackson advanced
into Florida with a force of 1800 men, composed
of regulars, volunteers, and the Georgia militia,
and afterwards, on the Ist day of Apwit, was join
ed by gen. MHntosh, and his brigade of 1500 In
dians, who had been previously organized by gen.
Gaines; opposed to whom, 4 the
report of capt. Young, typographical cVtaecy.
and other evidence, the whole forces of tfie fu
gitive Seminoiic Indians, and runaway” negroes,
had they been embodied, could not have
cd 900 or 1000 men; and at no time did half that
number present themselves to oppose his march
—of course little or no resistance was made.
The Miekasuky towns were fust taken and
destroyed. The army marched upon St. Mark’s,
a feeble Spanish garrison, which was surrender
ed “without firing a gun,” and then occupied as
an American post; the Spanish commandant ha
ving first, by humble entreaties, and then by a ti
mid protest, endeavored to avert the measure.
Here Alexander Arbuthnot was found, taken pri
soner, and put in confinement, for the purpose,
, as it was stated by gen. Jackson, “of collecting
I evidence to establisn his guilt;” and here, also,
were taken two Indian chiefs, one of whom pre
tended to possess the spirit of prophecy; they
were hung without trial, and with little ceremony.
This being done, and St. Mark’s garrisoned by
American troops, the aimy pursued tlieir march
eastward to Suwaney river, on which they found
-xM-naa,
a large Indian village, which was consumed, ar.d
the Indians and negroes were dispersed; alter
which the army returned to St. Mark s, bringing
with them Robert C. Ambrister, who had been
taken prisoner on their march to Suwaney. Du
ring the halt of the army for a few days at St.
Mark’s, a general court martial was called; A-'*
buthnot was arraigned; found guilty; sentenced
to suffer death, and hung.
Ambrister was tried in like manner, found
guilty, and sentenced to whipping and confine
ment. Gen. Jackson annulled the sentence, and
ordered him to be shot; and this order was exe
cuted.
It appears, by the testimony, that the army had
arrived at St. Mark’s, 011 their return from Su
waney, on the 25th ot April; and on the 26th,
gen. Jackson writes to the secretary ot wai in
the following manner: “1 shall leave this in two
or three days, for fort Gadsden; and, after making
all necessary arrangements for the security us
the positions occupied, and detaching a iorcejn
scour the country west of the Appaiachicoia, I
shall proceed direct to Nashville; my
in this country can be no longer necessary r Tne
Indian forces have been divided and paltered;
cut off from all communication with those un
principled agents of foreign nations, who have
deluded them to their ruin; they have not tue
power, if the will remains, of annoying our fion
ticr.” It appears, however, by the < onduct of
the commanding general, that he had, at tins
time, looked to different movements; for, at die
time he was writing this letter, as will be seen by
flie‘testimony of captain Call and surgeon Bio
iiaugh, he had despatched lieut. Sands to Mobile,
to forward on a train of artillery, to a given point,
to be ready to be made use ot in reducing Pen
sacola and the fort of Barrancas, should that mea
sure be hereafter thought proper.—Having made
these arrangements, the army marched to fort
Gadsden, on the Appaiachicoia river. There, as
stated by gen. Jackson, and confn med by the tes
timony of col. Butler, information was received
by a private Setter, written by a merchant at
Pensacola, to Mr. Dovlc,and shown to gen. Jack
son, that a number of Indians had recently visit
ed Pensacola, and were committing depredations
on the Spanish inhabitants of that place, and
were receiving aid and comfort from the gairi
son. On the receipt of this intelligence, the re
solution scents to have been taken, to garrison
that place with American troops; and, after a
nicfteh of about twenty days, having met his ar
tillery, gen. Jackson, with about 1200 men, the
rest having been discharged, appeared before
Pensacola, the capital of the province. The
place w'as taken with scarce the show of resist
ance. The gov ernor had escaped, aitd taken re
fuge in the fort of the Barrancas; to which place,
distant about six miles, the ai my man hed, and
the fortress was invested On the 25th of May; and
a demand being madcr'for its surrender, and re
fused, the attackwHs made on the fortress by land
and water, aydrlmer the bombardment and can
nonadingfrffjrbeen kept up for of two days,
and sonißives lost, the fortress was surrendered,
the garrison made prisoners of war, and the offi
cers/>f the government, civil and muljary, trans
lated to the Havana, agreeably to the terms of
tm- capitulation; which terms, gen. Jackson, in
his letter of the 2d of June, 1818, declares, “were
more favorable than a conquered enemy would
have merited.” The civil and military govern
ment of Spain, thus annulled, general Jackson
thought it necessary to abolish the revenue 1 us
of Spain, and establish those of the United States,
as more favorable to the commerce of the United
States; and, for this purpose, captain Gadsclcn
was appointed collector, and by him, under the
autiioi ity of gen. Jackson, that department of the
new government was organized. The Spanish
authorities being thus put down by the sword,
both civil and military, anew government was
established for this newly acquired territory,the
powers of which, both civil and military, were
vested in military officers. And gen. Jackson,
having declared, in numerous communications to
the department of w ar, that the. Seminolie war
was closed, and the object of tlfr campaign at an
end, lie returned to his residence at Nashville,
state of Tennessee. And here it would have giv
en the committee sincere pleasure to have stated
that the history of the campaign had closed, but
facts which it becomes now their duty to report
require that history to he continued. On the 7th
of August, 1818, more than two months after his
consummation ol the conquest of West and part
of East Florida, he issued an order to general
Gaines, directing him to take possession of St.
Augustine, a strong fortress, and the capital of
East Florida. A copy of this order is subjoined
to this report, and his reasons for this measure
are stated at large in and reiterated and
enforced by his letter 4Pfhe secretary of war, da
ted the 10th of the s&me month, which reasons,
fully and beyond the possibilitoofdoubt, discover
the motives of the general in all his
movements against Spain.
The tendency of these measures by the com
manding general, seems to have been to involve
the nation in a war without her consent, and fpr
reasons of his own, unconnected with his military
functions. *'•* v
Your committee would be unwilling to attri
bute improper motives, where those of a different
character could-be possibly inferred, mordespe
cially, when it is to affect a character, whose rftili
tary fame is the pride and boast of the nation; but
even such a character becomes more eminently
dangerous, when he exalts himself above the ma
jesty of the laws; declares the public will, and
becomes the arbiter between the United States
and foreign nations. That these high and tran
scendent powers have been usurped and exercis
ed in the present case, is, it appears to the com
mittee, incontrovertibly evident, from the facts
adduced.