Newspaper Page Text
SOME PAGES EROM ME BOOK
OLD HIOKORY.
Some Fresh Stories About Andrew
Jackson—Judge Barry, of Galla
tin, Speaks of the Man Whose
Deeds are Honored —Jackson’s
Traits in Incident Revealed.
(From the Nashville American.)
One of the most interesting con
temporaries of General Jackson,
whose memorable victory at New Or
leans will, with fitting ceremonies, be
observed today, is now a citizen of
Gallatin, where a quiet and peaceful
existence is rounding out the years
of a useful life. This is Judge Thom
as Barry, the mention of whose name
will call to mind an honored gentle
man and veteran jurist, whose val
uable services have many times in
Tennessee’s past brought him into
enviable prominence. He was born
July 2, 1806, and though novZjpighty
three years of age, still possdfees re
markable physical activity and re
tains in an undimmed mind the long
record of a busy career.
“I am extremely sorry,” said the
venerable judge, “that I cannot at
tend the meeting in Nashville tomor
row. The occasion to be observed is
well worthy of celebration, for as
Henry Clay truly remarked, Andrew
Jackson, on the Sth day of January,
1815, covered himself and his country
with a glory that will last as long as
the Mississippi river shall roll its
waters into the Gulf of Mexico. I
think the great traveler and states
man, Mr. Cobden, did not appreciate
Jackson too highly when he said that
he was the greatest uninspired man
that ever lived. I do not know of
any other man that would have
fought the battle of the night of De
cember 23, 1814, which saved the city
of New Orleans. The very moment
Jackson heard that the English had
landed he exclaimed:
“ ‘By the eternal God, they shall
not sleep on the soil of freedom. I
will fight them tonight!’
“This battle caused the English
to believe the story told by an Irish
man whom they had previously ar
rested, that Jackson had 20,000 men.
This impression led to the delays that
secured the great victory of January
8, with its grand and glorious re
sults. So soon as the victory was
gained Jackson attended church to
give thanks for his glorious victory,
which was achieved by about 4,000
militia against 15,000 or 20,000 of
the best troops in Europe, including
those who had helped to defeat in Italy
the greatest of Napoleon’s marshals.
“General Jackson was always ready
to protect the innocent and help the
weak. Nearly all the perilous fights
in which he engaged were waged in
defense of females. He was always
at any hazard for the right against
the wrong .
“He was also full of wit when oc
casion offered. Once an aged aristo
crat,” and the speaker smiled as
his thoughts reverted to an incident
retained in his large store of remin
cences, “called upon Jackson to pro
tect him from the military into whose
service he was about to be pressed.
“ ‘I am lame,’ said he, in explana
tion of his request.
“ ‘Can’t you run?’ inquired Jack
son.
“ ‘No, I can’t hardly walk.’
“ ‘Well, I wish all men were in
your fix,’ the general quickly replied,
and turning to his quartermaster said,
‘Give him a gun.’
“When Jackson was introduced to
Major Lewis, of Franklin, the major
addressing the great warrior, said:
“ ‘General Jackson, 1 have all my
life been writing against you.’
“ ‘And I,’ was the response he
received, ‘have been fighting the bat
tles of my country in order that yon
might enjoy that privilege.’
“Just previous to the battle of the
Horseshoe when Jackson had his men
drawn up in line of battle, prepara
tory to an attack on the works of
the Indian fort, a strapping big sol
dier who stood just in front of the
line, cried out:
“ ‘Oh, General Jackson, what
shall I do? I have no gun.’
“Jackson eyed the questioner a
moment and replied:
“ ‘By the eternal God, my good
fellow, try it fist and skull.’ The
whole army line was forced to smile
as it commenced the charge upon the
works in front.
“General Jackson once told me,”
continued the speaker, “that of all
the brave men he knew he consider
ed that the bravest were Generals
Dyer, Gibson and Elliott. General
Elliott told me that he was crossing
the Square in Nashville one night
when Jackson, somewhata in his cups
approached him and, taking hold of
him, said: ‘You must go with me.’
‘I went with him,’ said Mr. Elliott,
‘and he took me into the ball room
of the inn. Jackson introduced me
to the persons present and paid me
the compliment to say: ‘By the eter
nal God, when I ordered him to
charge at Emuckfau he took the wa
ter like a noble spaniel.” ’
“ ‘I do not deserve credit for that,’
replied Elliott; ‘for you were so mad
and were frothing so at the corners
of your mouth that I dared not stay,
for I knew that if you had bitten a
man he would have died of hydro
phobia in less than nine days.’
‘‘ In 1844 a gentleman who knew
General Jackson very' well related to
me an incident which he had witness
ed. A very panicky neighbor of Gen
eral Jackson’s visited the Hermitage
one day about the time that trouble
was brewing with Mexico.
“ ‘The Mexicans are the most
stubborn race in the world,’ excited
ly remarked the visitor, ‘and if we
get into a war with them I am afraid
it will last forty or fifty years.*
“ ‘Give yourself no uneasiness
about that,’ calmly remarked the gen
eral. ‘I can go to Sumner county,
raise 2,000 volunteers and run every
Mexican into the Pacific ocean in six
months.’ The panicky man’s ner
vousness seemed to be almost entire
ly allayed by this expression of con
fidence which he heard.
WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN.
“I will mention an occurrence
which will illustrate General Jack
son’s indomitable courage. Over at
Clover Bend a mob got after Patton
Anderson, who was a warm friend
of the general, and were intent upon
taking his life. Anderson had re
treated and entered a yard with the
mob in close pursuit. Jackson inter
cepted the angry horde and, with an
exclamation of warning threw his
hand to his hip pocket and, withdraw
ing a spectacle-case, opened it with
ja jsnap which could be distinctly
heard some distance. ‘By the eter
nal God,’ he shouted, ‘the first man
that puts his foot on this step is a
dead man.’ This effectually checked
the mob. ‘I had no pistol,’ said
Jackson to me afterward, ‘but the
snap of the spectacle case deceived
them. ’
“In 1819 the general was lying
very ill at Tuscumbia. He had hem
orrhage of the lungs and was not
expected to live. It was difficult to
get him warmed at all. Dr. Bruno,
his physician, had worn himself out
waiting on his patient and had walk
ed out into the fresh air. While he
was out a newsmonger entered Jack
son’s room with a paper containing
a copy of Mr. Clay’s congressional
resolutions censuring General Jack
son for his action in hanging, during
the Florida war, two instigators ot
strife named Arbuthnot and Arm
brister. This newsmonger read the
resolutions to General Jackson who,
as he became thoroughly enraged,
soon became warm. Dr. Bruno soon
came back, and having felt his pa
tient’s pulse, said:
“ ‘General, you must have taken
too much of that stimulant which I
left you; your pulse is very high.’
“ ‘I haven’t touched your stimu
lant,’ was the reply.
“ ‘What is the cause, then, of this
extraordinary change?’
“ ‘Read this paper and you will
see.’
“The next day after this occur
rence Jackson was so warm that he
threw off the cover and felt strong
enough to get on his horse and go
to Washington to see Mr. Clay. He
came to Nashville from where he and
Dr. Bruno set out on horseback to
Abingdon, Va., where a stage line
could be reached. They arrived at
Baltimore, where a large crowd had
assembled to see the distinguished
warrior. Dr. Bruno had, in the
meantime, secured a paper contain
ing a speech made by Mr. Clay on
the resolutions mentioned, and on the
journey to Washington informed Gen
eral Jackson of this fact.
“ ‘Give the paper to me,’ said the
genera].
“ ‘I will let you have it in proper
time,’ was the reply which Dr. Bruno
accompanied by a lock which seemed
to say, ‘lf I give it to you now you
would make everybody jump out of
the stage coach.*
“After their arrival who should
be the first man to call to pay his re
spects but Mr. Clay, and least of all
men was his presence desired by Gen.
Jackson. The meeting was a very em
barrassing one, and Clay got up to
leave, requesting, as he did so, Gen
eral Jackson to return the visit.
“ ‘lf I am this murderer, as you
insist, I am not worthy to visit any
gentleman,’ was the cutting response
to the invitation.
“ ‘This resolution was not caused
by any ill will or hatred, but was in
tended to prevent a bad example
from being effective,’ Mr. Clay ex
plained.
“ ‘I doubt that very much, sir,’
was the reply, as General Jackson
fixed his piercing eye upon the
statesman from Kentucky. The man
ner of Jackson’s so confused Mr.
Clay that he stepped backward off
the first step and came near falling
into the street. Barber and one or
two others made speeches in Jack
son’s defense and the resolutions
were killed when the vote was taken
in congress. Jackson was invited
by the citizens of New York to visit
that city, which he did soon after on
a grand triumphal tour.
“When did you first see General
Jackson?” the reporter asked.
“In 1825, in Nashville, when La
fayette visited the city, they were
seated together in a carnage drawn
by four large gray horses in a de
monstration which was participated
in by 30,000. I thought that car
riage bore the grandest burden that
I had ever seen. Quite a contrast in
personal appearance from the slight
French patriot was General Jackson.
The latter was about six feet, rather
spare and delicate, with an inclina
tion to be hollow-chested and slight
ly stooped. He had the biggest head
I ever saw on any man. It must
have required a seven and one-holf
inch hat. He had an expressive and
changeable eye, in anger dark and
flashing, in pleasure gentle and kind.
You might look Jackson in the eye
and see every evidence of candor and
sincerity. His object in conversation
seemed to be to turn his heart wrong
side out with nothing concealed. He
was one of the most truthful men I
ever saw.”
“It has been said that Jackson did
not himself write his state documents;
what is your view of that?”
“Andrew Donaldson said he would
be sworn if need be to the statement
that Jackson’s nullification procla
mation was seen by no one except
Jackson, Major Eaton, Editor Blair
and himself, and that Jacksoxt
wrote it and gave it to Messrs. Blair
and Eaton with the request that they
correct any errors whicji might be
found. Nearly the whole of it had
been written at one sitting, and only
three or four mistakes in the spelling
were made.”
“During the battle at Horseshoe
Bend,” said Judge Barry, while dis
cussing that battle, “General Hous
ton, who was with Jackson, was
pierced by an Indian arrow. Gener
al Jackson ordered him to remain out
of the fight on account of his injury.
(Continued on Page Fourteen.)
PAGE THREE