Athens gazette. (Athens, Ga.) 1814-18??, February 23, 1815, Image 1
VOL 11. - if V PRINTED WEEKLY) BY HODGE W M'DQNXELL. .4 >»'"' \ ‘* ■■*- ~ mu&'ftm v W./v, .■*< ’ , 1 CONDITIONS. Ist. >The Annual Subscription will be tors* collars, half in advance. 21’ Subscribers living out of the State will pay (-;• whole subscription upon the delivery of the first number. VSI No Subscriptions will be received for less than one y**ar; and no paper shall be dis continued arrearages are paid. , 4*b. . Advertisements will be inserted at the customary rates. ‘ / . ;•*? - - ‘-j’yfCT* Letters addressed to the Edi tons must be post paid. From the Richmond Enquirer, V ; GENERAL JACKSON. IWme notice of the life end character of general Jackson* Will be desirable at this time to the readers of our columns. The distinguished post he at presen oo cupies, the honorable manner in which he has brought the Greek war to a ter mination, the unexampled enthusiasm which he has instilled into hid arrfty in defence of the nation—and the confi dence which he has every where obtained through this vast country, has excited much curiosity, on the part of the pub lic, to become more intimately acquain ted with him. The writer of the Crisis will gratify as far as in his power this anxiety for information concerning a man whose life will constitute, and has constituted already, an important epoch, in, the history of our country. General Andrew Jackson was, as I am told, born in North Carolina whera be received a li beral education, and at an early age com* menced the practice of the law. He was esteemed eminent in his profession —His speeches at the bar were always considered nervous and admired for the perspicuity of the style ; he was poin ted out to me, in. Knoxville as an ele gant scholar. In early life he. was poor, liis industry Soon made him ri6h ; genera ©U» and brave m his disposition*’ he i was esteemed by all who knew him— his influence soon became extensive ; he was elected a member of the Ten nessee Convention, and had a large share in the formation of the coYistku'io.i of that state. On the admission of Ten nessee into the union as a sister stlte. he was elected to the house of represen tatives, from wjrich he was subsequent ly transferred by the Tennessee legisla ture to the senate of the United States. This last station he occupied, until he was appointed a judge of tlte suprem cwirt of law and equity of Tennessee, Which lust named office he held for se yeral years. Op. giving up this ap pointment which he filled with honor to himself aid advantage o his country ~he turned his attention to the military > art and soon rose to the rank pf major general of militia—ln the capacity p? a u officer at tjie head ©f an army, com ment is unnecessary ; he has appeared and yet appears covered with glory— the laurels with which he decked his country’s standard will bloom for ages. His person remains to be notic ed. He is tall, thin and spare, but phuscular and hardy, with an eye quick . aud penetrating. I have frequently seen general Jacksdn, and suen wpp the impression his appearan :e made in my mind, that I have said to myself he is a man of iron. Adversity can make no impression on a bosom braceA by suc\decmon and firmness visible in his face and in his manners* Let not the reader conclude from this that lve is distant and quite the contrary*~it is true he sports not with the feelings of others—and no one is permitted to wound his with punity ; but then he is gay* communi cative and liberal* and the % nlore you know bint, the more you admire and in deed love him. a patriot, a sold*-. and a gentleman, is sufficient to se cure tbe inviolable friendship of this highly distinguished citizen. To the poor he i» liberal, to the unfortunate charitable, to the humblest private he is mild and tender, to the ‘base and dis affected to lus country stem and un-v bending and yet just. He is now about fifty-Jjve, but has a juvenility of appear ance that would make, him ten year.- younger. The general is married, hue has no children. Jf in the field and at ••• • ‘-. •? W■■ < n ATHENS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY Q C) 1815. the head of armies in battles we admire the dauntless soldier; we love the man who at home, and in retirement, is hospitable and friendly, and in this par ticular the general, is pre-eminently conspicuous, ■ C ) V Author of the Crisis . fcATCHEZ, January 16>1815- Exlract oj a letter from Capt. fas, Kempj t o his friend in this city , dated Camp Jackson , Jan • 9, I*ls. 44 I have news which as a patriot will rejoice you, though it is the news of carnage. One of the most bloody en gagements which” has occurred during the war, tcok place yesterday morning. 44 The British under a heavy discharge of bombs, rockets and cannon, attacked our works in two columns, on the right and centre. The assault was furious, and brave almost beyond example ; but was as bravely met and repulsed. They advanced with facines and scaling lad ders even to the very ditch, under a fire which beggars all description. Many of them got into the ditch, and being unable to ascend were obliged to sur- The column was two or three times repulsed and still returned to the charge ; but were Ultimately compelled so retreat, being liter illy mowed down by our bullets and grape and cannister shot ; the field, (Madison Hall planta tion) is strewed with their dead; and all the .after part of yesterday was em ployed in bringing in their wounded. We have 300 wounded prisoners, near ly the same number not wounded, and their killed is estimated at from sto 8 hundred. Many it is known were car vied off the field. Their left columns succeeded in getting possession of our right bastion on the river 5 but it prov ed a slaughter pen to them, as they were all either killed or takep but two or three, almost immediately. In the mean time they had pushed a column over the river which drove our men 1 stationed there from a battery of three pieces, with very little loss on our part ; report say only 4 or 5. ‘ What is almost, miraculous but strictly true in their attack bf our breast work, our loss does not exceed twelve men in all. 44 A journal was found in possession of one of tife enemy’s dead officers which gave a statement of their loss in the different actions previous to yester day, and it is certain their force has been lessened since the invasion, from 3 to 2000, with a very great proportion of officers. A cessation of hostilities now prevails, to give them an opportunity of burying their dead. “ From one of the officers takenryes terdayr I have learnt the probability of l,averty*s death ; Cochrane Is alive; but K could leacn nothing of either Flower or Natt Cox. However, as we out num ber them now in prisoners, if is proba ble an exchange will soon take place. 44 The dragoons are in a place of con siderablorsecurity, nearly half a mile in •.'ear of the breas: work, and always re tire qut of the wav of cannonading. 44 We have not bad a man killed in the squadron yet, and I have no doubt the action of yesterday is a decisive one. “ Capt. Wilkins and his men are all got safe down ; they have not yet been in action, but I think they will proba bly to-day, a* they are gone over the ri ver, and will be with the party who are ordered to drive the British in that .quarter. 44 I am very glad to hear from you of the Ist of January by Dr. Alexander, whom I have not yet had the pleasureoi seeing, that a patriotic spirit pervades Natchez. HereaH has been animation and the inhabitants have exerted, them selves astonishiugly. The ladies of Or leans have made up a large subscription : ior cloathing the Tennessee troops, who, are m much need, having left home in haste. Indeed so they ought; for they have saved the country. A report now prevalent I do not vouch for, that the British have made a proposition for an armistice for two months. “ I have given you a hasty disjointed sketch of-our proceedings, in which there may be some errors as the de tails are yet unknown, 1 ” even at head quarters ;-4>ut the defeat of our ene mies was a mest severe one, and 6fthe greatest repulses they have met ‘du- ring the war. A captain, one of our prisoners, told me, for the time the ac tion lasted, it was the hottest he ever witnessed in Spain or France ; he had led sixty grenadiers to the charge, and but Jive escaped.” NASHVILLE, Jan. 24. Copy of a letter from Gov- Claiborne to Gov* Blount, dated New-Oleans, Jan. 9. SIR—-Since I last addressed yon, no thing important occurred, until yester day the 7th inst. At the dawn of day the enemy advanced in columns to the attack of our lines, protected by an in cessant fire from all his batteries. His primary efforts were directed against/ both our flanks, the right supported bf 4 this river and the left by C> pres Swamp ; this evinced an ardor which nothing could overcome buu the steady firmness and well directed fire of our troops. At the commencement of the firing, I re paired to the scene of action, and arriv ed there before the battle was ended* 1 he officers and men, the regulars, the Kentuckyj reqiitssee and Louisiana mi litia, seemed to be alike bool and deter mined. ihe fire of the Tennessee and “ Ken tucky men was particularly destructive T to the enemy / they strewed the field in their front with their dead and dying. : The battle continued with vigor for near 2 hours, when the enemy retired from the contest. I cannot, with any kind bf certainty, state their loss in killed, wounded and prisoners ; it is however estimated at iij'om 12 tp 1500 ; among the killed are col* Haney, a inajoj, Pringle and many officers; among the prisoners I whom are wounded. It is a matter of equal joy and wonder that in a conflict so long, so glorious to us and so fatal to the enemy, our loss is astonishingly small ; it is not suppo sed to exced in killed and wounded 25 or 30, among whom I have not heard of an officer. Ahe entrenchments protected our mer\ from the fire of the enemy ; and although their batteries poured forth a shower of shells, balls and rockets, they did very little injury/for the most part over ahooting our lines and’ falling harmless in the field behind. riie General /Jackson) wtyl give to the government the particulars no less honorable to him, than profitable to his country ; he will do justice to his brave army and his distinguished in arms, gens. Carroll, Adair and Coffee, and many others whose merits he can justly appreciate. The victory of tha American arms would have been com plete, and Louisiana probably delivered at once from the invading foe, but for the momentary success of the British on the opposite or west side of the Mis sissippU Batteries had bfeeii erected there to annoy the enemie’s line, and under the brave com. Patterson, had ; gloriously contributed to our success; they were protected by a detachment of the Ken tucky and Louisiana militia under bKg. gett Morgan, of this state. Pend ng tjie atfaack on our lines, a party of the enemy, the force of which is not correctly ascertained* but is sup posed to be considerable* crossed the ri ver, and owing to so vie cause not/yet accounted for, our troops speedily gave ’ way, and the brave commodore was com pelled to spike and abandon his cannon ; Gen. Morgan is represented to have be haved coolly and to hare made many efforts, to rally his men. Gen. Jackson was prompt in reinforceing him so as to stop the enefhy’s advance, and we hope to-day to re-occupy the batteries* * ■i Respectfully, . ‘. v WC.C. CLAIBORNE. . Richmond, Feb. 4. / ; To the editor of the Enquirer » dated Nat chss, 27 ih January , 1815* sir, ; ; ; r ■- / / “1 herein enclose you a hand bill, which is worth reading . It docs ikk contain all the particulars. There are several letters in town, that state the loss of the British pure* and say they lost three of their Generals killed, and jne mortally wounded. In the fir»t at tack, they took an Irishman by the name of Laverty, and since the last battle, Jackson has demanded his exchange, and has sent the Word, if they do not £ive hirmup, he will keep »0 of his officers ; if they da red to kill him, he would kill 10 of their best officers.— 1 his is stated in several letters in town, Richard Terrell. a P* S. Packenham, who commanded, is dead, and two other officers**—l forget their names. f Written subsequently on the back by Mr. TANARUS.) PACKEN, H AM, REED & PICTON, are the Ge nerals killed. Our force at ft PluckiH min—ifbelow on the Mississippi ; this proves that the enemy were in the ri yef and attempting to ascend.— Ed En ) —sunk 2 of the British barges and blew up one. There are eight officers here d®’ prisoners, and 4or 3 more on the way for safekeeping*’ A ) -TIM PENSACOLA. We have received from an attentive friend who resides on the Mobile, the subjoined extract of the Journal of Wil liam Ellis , a man of veracity and .good character.- it a d&UHtent, at this monftent, of importance. It vindicates most satisfactorily’', if vindication in this case can be considered necessary, the conduct of the American government, or their general, in entering Pensacola. -This interesting paper also exhibits ia a strong light the anti-neutral conduct of the Spanish Governor of West Flo rida. We should hope,indeed, that Don Gozales Manrique, does not faith fully represent the King whose com mission he holds ; but, whatever ic the real temper of the Spanish Monarchy 1 towards the United State?, it became ruU cessary to the safety of our territory and people, that some check should be gi ven to the enemy whilst finding an as# and countenance and protection, from pretended friends in Pensacola. - ! In the simple narrative of Mr Ellis, we find that a force came from I?onsa* cola to scour our territory, to’ make prisoners of unarmed citizens, and at tack our fqrts; that the prisoners were kept there* as if -in a hostile country contrary to the established principles of the law of nations ; that wheij an A merican-force pursued the enemy as far as the Perdido, the Spanish Governor appears to have considered a resistance to then! as the common concern of the British, the Indians, and himself, and that he made arrangements for sending a force to co-operate with the Indians in resisting the Americans, whilst in fresh pursuit m their avowed enemy engaged in the very act of carrying dffi their property and their people. ° Is this neutrality ? Was there are any chaiice of security to the adjacent set tlements of American citizens, if such infamous partiality, not to say hostility, had been viewed with awful reverence by the American General } HoW could he plead a regard to neu tral rights ? Neutral duties must be observed, if neutral rights would be respected. Every man must be satrifil ed that there was no real neutrality on the part of the Spanish Governor ; and the return of General Jackson to our owi* territory, after having driven off the Indians and British, can only be regarded as a solemn sacrifice made by the American government to that lovfe/ ; of peace and friendship with other na- - tions, which has always marked their character and conduct. J ‘ ;( . ; > National Intelligencer* Extract from the Journal of William Ellis f Inspector of tire Revenue at Mobile •coho . was taken prisoner by the British and Indians» and carried to a Spanish town, in West Florida, ? > v*’ [The Journal begins with August 28th 1814, and states* his employment as a Custom Houso Officer, stationed at Boa Secour, a river on the east side of the bay of Mobile] September 12th—Visited the landing in the forenoon—after dinner, commen ced fixing some fish hooks, and. about half past two P* M. casting my eve up, saw two Creek Indians painted* pom*’ ting their gins at me—and in the spaa of a moment, the yard and house weA crowded with them. Mrs.’ La Coast* and her son (Ten years old) Miss Bet i sey, her two children, and her sister, I were screaming rin the rooms, I cob tin- NO. LIV