The book provides new information about the period in Andrew Jackson's life when he battled the general in command of the U.S. Army for control of the Gulf Coast. The general was a spy on an enemy payroll. At the beginning of the War of 1812, Jackson led his Tennessee Volunteers down the Mississippi River and Natchez Trace toward the Gulf, only to be tricked by the general into stopping short of his destination. In overcoming the challenges, Jackson led his troops on foot hundreds of miles back to Tennessee and became "Old Hickory" and the man the U.S. would know as "General Jackson."
In the years following the War of 1812, Battle of New Orleans hero General Andrew Jackson became a power unto himself. He had earlier gained national acclaim and a military promotion upon successfully leading the West Tennessee militia in the Creek War of 1813--1814, Jackson furthered his fame in the First Seminole War in 1818, which led to his invasion of Spanish West Florida without presidential or congressional authorization and to the execution of two British subjects. In Old Hickory's War, David and Jeanne Heidler present an iconoclastic interpretation of the political, military, and ethnic complexities of Jackson's involvement in those two historic episodes. Their exciting narrative shows how the general's unpredictable behavior and determination to achieve his goals, combined with a timid administration headed by James Monroe, brought the United States to the brink of an international crisis in 1818 and sparked the longest congressional debate of the period.
Though remembered largely by history as Andrew Jackson's nephew, Andrew Jackson Donelson was himself a significant figure in nineteenth-century America: a politician, planter, diplomat, newspaper editor, and vice-presidential candidate. His relationship with his uncle and mentor defined his life, as he struggled to find the political and personal success that he wanted and his uncle thought he deserved. In Old Hickory's Nephew, the first definitive biography of this enigmatic man, Mark R. Cheathem explores both Donelson's political contributions and his complex, tumultuous, and often-overlooked relationship with Andrew Jackson. Born in Sumner County, Tennessee, in 1799, Donelson lost his father only five years later. Andrew Jackson soon became a force in his nephew's life, seeing in his namesake his political protégé. Jackson went so far as to predict that Donelson would one day become president. After attending West Point, Donelson helped establish the Jacksonian wing of the Democratic party and edited a national Democratic newspaper. As a diplomat, he helped bring about the annexation of Texas and, following in his uncle's footsteps, he became the owner of several plantations. On the surface, Donelson was a political and personal success. But few lives are so straightforward. The strong relationship between the uncle and nephew -- defined by the concept of honor that suffused the southern society in which they lived -- quickly frayed when Donelson and his wife defied his uncle during the infamous Peggy Eaton sex scandal of Jackson's first presidential administration. This resulted, Cheathem shows, in a tense relationship, full of distrust and suspicion, between Donelson and Jackson that lasted until the "Hero of New Orleans" died in 1845. Donelson later left the Democratic party in a tiff and joined the American, or Know Nothing, party, which selected him as Millard Fillmore's running mate in 1856. Though Donelson tried to establish himself as his uncle's political successor and legator, his friends and foes alike accused him of trading on his uncle's name to gain political and financial success. The life of Andrew Jackson Donelson illuminates the expectations placed upon young southern men of prominent families as well as the complexities and contradictions in their lives. In this biography, Cheathem awakens interest in a nearly forgotten but nonetheless intriguing figure in American history.
Examines the events which shaped the life of Andrew Jackson, providing information on his family's immigration from Ireland, his childhood experiences, and his involvement in the Revolutionary War.
A comparative sketch between Andrew (Old Hickory) Jackson and Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson written by General Lee's Military Secretary, Armistead L. Long in the 1880s. This is Long's first book to be published since his critically acclaimed Memoirs of Robert E. Lee in 1886. Long's manuscript was edited to include over 200 digitally corrected period illustrations and photographs. Long's comparison reviews the Jacksons' similarities from childhood through their battlefield conquests. Long draws upon his personal experiences and secondary sources in discussing General Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812 and General Stonewall Jackson in the Civil War.
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