:.;o Vpfinn. was about
ioss, in
3000, while that of the Ameri
rans was hut 1 3.
After the action of the 8th
the American oauerics were
continually throwing balls, and
bombs, into the British camp
Harassed, dismayed and enfeeb
led, that once powerful army,
which was to arrive at Newur
Jeans'bv a nrimrose path, and
hold in subjection all the lower
final and furtive leave m the
night of the lSlhof January,
and embarked in their shipping
'for 'the West Indies.. lnus
ended the mighty invasion, in
twentysixdaysofter the foreign
standard had been cxultingly
planted on the bank cf the Mis
sissippi. Thus triumphed Gen.
Jackson by a wonderful combin
ation of boldness and 'prudence,
energy and adroitness, desper
ate fortitude and anxious patri
otism. Though the enemy had with
drawn from New-Orleans in the
manner which has been stated,
Jackson could not be sure that!
they would not return. Against:
this contingency, he prepared
himself by cautious arrange
ments in the distribution of his
force and the construction of
new defences at assailable points
before he returned to New Or-
Ipimc Thnuprh honored and!
cherished by the larger part ot
the citizens, he was 'net, howe
ver, without occasion to display
the energy and decision of his
character in a way that favored
the ends of jealousy and detrac
tion. Anonymous articles, cal
culated to excite mutiny among
the troops and afford the enemy
dangerous intelligence, having j
appeared in one of the newspa
pers of NeV-Orleans, he caused
the author to be revealed to him
by the editor of the paper. He
found that the offender was a
member of the Legislature, but
this
circumstance did net pre
vent him from ordering his ar
rest and detention for trial. Ap-
plication was made to one of the:
Judges ior a writ ot Habeas
Corpus, and it was immediately
issued. Jackson arrested the
judge also, and sent him from
the city. 1 he Ixenerai had not
yet raised the edict of. martial
A L 14 4 1 I
law, there being no certain intel
ligence of peace, or of the de
parture of the enemy from the
coast. Within a few days the
cessation of hostilities was offi
cially announced. The judge
was restored to his post and the
exercise of his functions.
Without loss of time a rule of
court was granted for General
Jackson to appear and shew
cause why an attachment forj
contempt should not issue, on!
the ground that he had refused
to obey a writ and imprisoned
the orp-rin of iho lnw TJA'.A
not hesitate to appear and sub
mit a full and very able answer,
from which the following pas
sages are extracted:
"Under a solemn conviction that
the country committed to my care,
could only be saved from ruinun
der a religious belief that I was
pertormmg a most important and
1 did proclaim martial
as a measure intended
EdeH civil powers as
m their operation interfered with
those I was obliSed to exerdse At
such a moment constitution, i r
I thought should k forms,
"
from the enjoy,'enV
rights, or have them -,7;I
forever. If the civil magistrate
iJermiiiuu iu exercise hisusu
necessary to avert the awful fate
that threatened us, could be ex
pected. Personal liberty could not
t a tlme when eveiy man
:vas IC4uireo: to be a soldier. To
have Suffered the nrnntrnllP(1 rn-
nyment of constitutional right, at
- V a nder such - - cir -
such a time, and ugve been to a-
F11
bandon the defence
AAr nrsrumcnt
before the
Hp rule was made abso
y"ul7 -fhment sued out
and6 Jackson brought up to an
-..,. interrogatories. He do
dined answering; but asked for
the sentence, wnicn tne juage
4uon nrocecded to pass. It was
a fine of one thousand dollars
which was promptly paid by
the General.
On his return to Nashville, a
journey of eight hundred miles,
he saw on every side mants oi
Untlnn and dellffllt. T Or
two vears afterwards he remain
nrl nn liis firm, retaining his
rank in the army,, but chiefly
occupied with rural pleasures
and labors. In this interval,
the portion of the Seminoles
Who were driven into Florida,
combining with fugitive negroes
from the adjoining States, and
nstigated by British adventur
ers, whose objects were blood
and rapine, became formidable
in numbers and hardihood, and
began to excute schemes of rob
bery and vengeance against the
Americans ot the frontiers. In
November, 1817, Lieut. Scott,
ot the United Mates army, un
der Gen. Gaines, with forty-se
ven nersons. men," woman, and
children, in a boat, on me ;ip
palatchicola river, about a mile
below the junction of the Flint
and Cohatahoochie, was surpri
sed by an ambuscade of Indians,
fired upon, and the whole de
tachment killed and taken by
the Indians, except six men
who escaped by flight.
Gen. Jackson was directed, by
letter from the war department,
of the 2Gth December, 1S17, to
repair to Fort Scctt, and take
command of the forces in that
quarter. lie penetrated immc
diately into the Seminole towns,
driving the enemy belore him,
and reduced them toTishes. In
the council house of the king: of
the Mickasukians, more than 50
fresh scalps, and in an adjacent
:house. upwards of 300 old scalns
of all acres and sexes Were found
and in the centre of the public
square a red pole was erected,
crowned with scalps, known by
the hair to have belonged to the
j 1 t . 1 1 1 1 . .
companions of Lieut. Scott.
He pursued his march to St.
Marks, understanding that there
were foreign incendiaries, insti
gating the savages, having free
communication with the fort,
and that the Spanish storehouses
were appropriated to the use of
the hostile party, and actually
filled with goods belonging to
them. He entered the fort by
force, tho' without bloodshed,
the enemy having fled, and the
garrison too weak to make op
position. From thence he im
mediately marched his lorces to
Suwany, seized upon the stores
of the enemy and burnt their
villages.
A variety of circumstances
convinced Gen. Jackson, that
the savages had commenced the
war, and persisted in their bar-
under the miiuence oi
some foreign incendiaries, more
criminal than the uncivilized
natives. Alexander Arbuth
not an Indian trader, and Rob
ert C. Ambrister, late a lieute
nant of the British marine corps,
avowing themselves British sub-
jects, were taken in this expedi
tion. Gen. Jackson ordered
them to be tried by a Court of
Enquiry, consisting of 13 re
spectable ollicers, wun major
en. Gaines, as president., up
on satisfactory testimony, they
were sentenced, the former to
be hung; the latter, to be shot.
One of the members, however,
requesting- a roonnsirWatinn of
the sentence, in the case of the
1 latter, it was agreed to; and, o;i
a revision, the Court sentenced
in r,reive50strines on his
him to receive 50 stripes on his
bare back, and be confined with
a ball and chain to hard labor
for 12 calendar months. Gen.
Jackson approved the sentence
in the case of Afbuthnot; and, in
the case of Ambrister, he disap
proved the reconsideration, and
confirmed the first sentence.
They were both executed ac
cordingly. Gen. Jackson being informed
that the Indians were admitted
freely by the Governor of Pen
sacola, and that 500 were col
lected in that place, he marched
there directly, and took posses
sion on the 24th May, the Gov
ernor having fled to Fort Carlos
de Barrancas; which post, after
a feeble resistance, was also sur
rendered on the 28th. By these
events the Indians and fugitive
negroes were effectually depri
ved of all possible means of con
tinuing their depredations, or
screening themselves from the
arm of justice. Thus ended
the campaign and the Seminole
war.
Jackson returned to Nashville
in June, 1S18, to the beloved
retirement of his farm. If the
general government deemed i
expedient to restore St. Marks
and Pensacola to the Spanish
authorities, it yet applauded and
defended what he had done
The British cabinet, after ful
inquiry, resolved to abstain
from all complaint respecting
the execution of Arbuthnotand
Ambrister; declaring that they
acted at their own peril.
When the treaty with Spain
ceding the Floridas was finally
ratified, Congress passed a law
empowering the .rresiuenr. to
vest in such person or persons as
he might select, all the military,
civil and judicial authority ex
ercised bv the olhccrs ot the
Spanish government! The Pre
sident, under this law, appoint
ed General Jackson to act m the
first place as commissioner for
receiving the provinces, and
then to assume the government
of them. In the discharge of
his duty as Governor, an un
pleasant difference occurred
with the Spanish Ex-governor
Callava, relative to some papers
withheld bv the latter; who, af
ter all other means tailed, was
thrown into confinement until
they were obtained. Ihe re
cords thus recovered, related to
the estate of a person who died
at Pensacola, about the year
1807, having made his will, and
bequeathed his property to sev-
cral orphan lemales, who had
. i it
never received any portion of
it, owing to the dishonesty of
ndividuals, who were at the
same time its depositaries and
debtors. Callava himself had
made decrees in favor of the
icirs, which were discovered in
the box, and had been suppress
ed under corrupt influence. It
was his object to carry off all
the evidence necessary for re-
lrcss The lust language of
Jackson, narrating and justify
ing his proceedings to the Pre
sident, was
"When men of high standing at
tempt to trample on the rierhts of
the weak, they are the fittest ob
jects for example or punishment.
in general the great can protect
themselves; but the poor and the
humble require the arm and shield
of the law."
Jackson's interpretation of his
own powers, and his measures to
prevent the abducation of the
papers, were ratified and fully
vindicated by the American go
vernment. On the 7th of Oc
tober, Jackson delegated his
powers to two gentlemen, the
secretaries of his government,
and set out on his return to
Nashville. The iniury which
his health had received from the
personal hardships, inevitable in
his campaigns, forbade him to
protract his residence in Florida.
In the autumn of 1823, he
was elected to the Senate of the
United States, in which body
he has taken his seat Before
his election to the Senate, he
was appointed by the President,
with the concurrence of the be
nate, Minister Plenipotentiary
to the government of Mexico:
but he declined the station from
a repugnance to the monarchical
system which then prevailed in
Mexico", and to the means by
which the supreme power had
been usurped.
In person, General Jackson is
tall, and remarkably erect and
thin. His weight bears no pro
portion to his height, and his
frame, in general, does not ap
pear fitted for such trials as it
has borne. His features are
large; his eyes dark blue with
a keen and strong glance; his
eve-brows arched and promi
nent; his complexion is that of
the war-worn soldier. His de
meanor is easy and. gentle; in
every station he has been found
open and accessible to all.
In the various critical situa
tions in which he Was placed by
emergencies, and the unlimited
discretion cast upon him, he ap
pears to have been governed by
general and solid principles,
which he knew how to apply
satisfactorily in explaining his
measures. If his feelings were
strongly roused and displayed
against the timid or traitorous
nortion of the inhabitants of
New-Orleans, who would have
given the enemy an easy and fa
tal triumph against the bpan
ish authorities in Florida, who
served the British and supplied
the Seminoles against Arbuth-
not and Ambrister, the unwea
ried instigators and insidious
confederates of the
Savages
thirsting for American blood
against the impostor prophets,
who had directed the butchery
of white women and children,
and whose occupation it was to
incite depredation and murder
against a Spanish governor, who
would have violated a treaty
and despoiled orphan females of
their inheritance we may say,
that both the warmth of those
feelings, and the rigor with
which they were manifested
will not only be excused, butc-
ven admired by generous minds.
The copious despatches which
General Jackson had occasion to
write to the government, detail
ing his campaigns and official
proceedings; his numerous ad
dresses to his troops, and the
statements and arguments,which
the charges preferred against his
onicial conduct, compelled him
to publish for his justification,
would, altogether, form a sizea
ble volume. They are marked
with great fluency and energy
of expression, cogent reasoning,
apt reference to general princi
ples, and the utmost earnestness
and apparent rectitude of inten
tion. He writes nervously and
perspicuoush'j he. speaks with
facility and force. He is artifi
cial in nothing. In regard to
business, he has always been
found indefatigable and saga
cious. He possesses a compe
tent estate, and lives hospitably
in the manner ot a substantial
armer. He is without children.
His amusements have consisted
in the management of his do
mestic concerns, the sports of
, . i . . 1 i
tne tun ana social intercourse.
He is temperate in his diet, and
in all respects enjoys a good pri
vate reputation. His nublic
character is to be known from
the history of his public career,
which we have regularly, tho'
very imperfectly traced.
by requkst.
The following extract is taken fro
the address of the Hon 1 r
SPAIGHT, to the freemen of
the counties of Carteret, Craven
Jones, Lenoir, Greene, Wayne
and Johnston.
Fellow-citizens:
You are no doubt apprized (for
I endeavoured by every means
within my power to give vn
- information of the fact) myha--r
ving attended the meeting J
the 14th cf last February at
Washington City, to recom
mend suitable persons for the
offices of President and Vice
President. I should say but lit
tle more on the subject, had I
not understood, that means
have been taken to represent
myconauct in mat particular
in an unfavourable light to
That I should have pleased all
who live within the limits of
my district, was a thing I never
hoped; for I knew nothing I
could do, could produce such a
result If, possessing the power
I had bestowed upon you every
object desirable, it would not
have been sufficient: it was not
the measures, but the person, to
whom their objections lay; not
so much the principles and con-.,
duct, as the individual. Their
dislike would have given an un
favourable interpretation to eve
ry thing I had done or could do.
To such only, will I say, not
expecting, their approbation, I
will not change my course, or
put myself to the least inconve
nience, to avoid their censure.
But to my constituents general
ly, I will in the spirit of candour
and frankness, state my reasons
for even an act of my private
conduct, no way touching my
representative character. I at
tended the meeting in accord
ance with the settled custom
and practice of twenty-four
years. A custom which I found
in existence, and which I belie
ved to have the approbation of
the majority of the people; one
which certainly had received
their countenance for the period
I have mentioned. The repub
lican members of Congress were
you.
requested to meet, for the pur
pose of recommending persons
for the distinguished situations
of President and Vice-PresU
dent. Having always been in
principle and practice a republi
can, I had no hesitation in openly
expressing my opinions. 1 have
at all times frankly and freely
given utterance to those I might
entertain; and I should have
thought that I was wanting to
myself and to my character, if
I had refrained, when called up
on for one. I might have stood
aloof, watching the current, and
endeavouring to sail with the
wind. I might have been si
lent, until I had ascertained
which of the candidates was
the most popular here; and then
in the nick of time, chimed in.
proclaiming myself a people'?
man, seeking my own popular
ity, even at the expense of my
principles; and, speaking in cor
ners and on the house tops, been
in fact a noisy, declaiming par
tizan, on the side which!
t most popular. My
course has been the reverse
having an opinion formed, 1
frankly gave it. I do not seek
to force my opinions upon you;
but when called
upon.
I shall
give, as l nave
T 1
given
them.
While I have the honour of re
presenting you, I shall at all
times pay a respectful attention
to vour opinions, and endeav
our to represent you faithfully;
but I shall at the same time
consider, that I have not, by
being your representative, for-
jfeited my individual political
rights; those which are enjoyed
by every citizen in the country.
I have the same right to enter-