one hundred years ago old hickory revisited the scene of his triumph over the red coats at new orleans by ELMO SCOTT WATSON released by western newspaper news paper union HEN members bembe rs of the W WHEN democratic party all over the united states gather together at their annual jackson day dinners this year they may well point to a celebration which took place just years ago as the precedent for their making the anniversary of a great american americal Ameri caa military victory the occasion for a political rally for january 8 1840 marked the climax of a 10 day celebration of the anniversary of the battle of new orleans and the honor guest there was the hero of that baule battle ex president andrew jackson it came about in this manner during his second administration old hickory had decided that martin var vaa burea his vice president should be his successor in the white house and despite a revolt within the party forced the nomination of the new yorker and aided in his election but van burens burena term as president was not a happy one ona for either him or for his friend and counselor the ex president within a year after he took office the speculative craze which had swept the country brought the inevitable result the panic of 1837 jacksons financial p policies oll were blamed and wrongly so the later historians assure us for the disaster but since he was no longer in the white house the anger of men who had seen their fortunes go crashing down in ruins rains was turned against his handpicked hand picked successor martin van buren by 1839 business conditions had improved somewhat but not enough to reassure van buren that he could again defeat william henry harrison the whig candidate and serve serve a second term when congress convened it quickly passed an independent treasury bill taking the fiscal affairs out cut of the hands of the banks and completing the work which jackson had commenced back in 1829 by now the country had begun to realize that old hick orys financial policies were sound and his popularity which had waned during the panic years of 1837 38 33 began to revive and give renewed confidence to van buren and his colleagues in the democratic administration come to the file aid of the party down in new orleans the lou islan isi anians ians began beg an planning a formal observance of the twenty fifth anniversary of the battle of new orleans and president van buren believing that the presence of general jackson at that celebration would aid the cause of democracy wrote to him asking him to go much as jackson would enjoy revisiting the scene of his triumph there were several reasons however which might prevent his going he was a tired old man now old hickory they still called him but age had weakened the tough fiber which that name suggested such a journey and the excitement of the celebration would drain him of much of the strength he still had left then there was another reason the general had lost one of his best friends one upon whom he had come to depend greatly that was ralph E W earle the wandering portrait painter who had come to the hermitage 17 years before and found there the only home he had ever known earle died in september 1838 and the gray head of the general bowed a little lower after that date he was my constant companion when I 1 traveled had I 1 a wish to travel I 1 have now no one to go with me he said mournfully but the most important reason why such a trip was doubtful is suggested in a letter he wrote to a friend at about this time again I 1 am out of funds and I 1 cannot bear to borrow or travel as a pauper when andrew jackson went to washington to become president lie he carried with him when at the end of eight years he returned to his home in tennessee there was only 90 left of it an expensive son then carne came the panic years and old hickory was hard put to it to remain solvent gol vent his difficulties were increased by the business businesslike li ce practices of his adopted SUA son andrew jackson jr ho he prevailed upon his foster father to allow him to buy a 1100 acre plantation in mississippi for which he agreed to pay in four yearly installments on his way home from making this deal young jackson stopped at nashville and un 7 ill 1 ft ANDREW JACKSON IN 1840 this portrait was painted by jacques J amans during old hick rys orys visit to new orleans to join in the th anniversary celebration of if his victory over the british there on january 8 1815 the th original orl final hangs lamps in the brown university library providence R 1 I from an il in marquis james andrew jackson portrait of a president published by the bobbs merrill company by whose courtesy it Is reproduced here known to his father bought an expensive piano also on the installment plan nor was this his only extravagance for while jackson was making plans for the journey to new orleans he received a letter from his old friend maj william B lewis asking that a note for signed by you young n 9 jackson and already two years overdue be paid this money had been used to buy a carriage and andrew jr had assured his father that the money had already been repaid 1 I have exerted all my means to clear my son from his foolish as well as useless debts they are all exhausted I 1 can do no more the general wrote to lewis is by this time he had about given up his plans for going to new orleans then came a crushing blow it was the financial collapse of albert ward a son of one of jacksons old friends and one of the richest men in middle tennessee when his creditors beandrew W 0 n JACKSON JR A portrait of jac jacksons esons adopted son by ralph E VI earle owned by the ladles ladies hermitage association nashville tenn and reproduced in marquis james andrew jackson portrait ot of a president gan securing writs of attachment against those who had gone security for ward it was learned that andrew jackson jr was one of his principal sureties moreover as the panicky creditors began to press their claims other debts which young jackson had contracted unknown to his father came to light old hickory tired and ill as he was rose superbly to the occasion first he made certain arrangements range ments with the ward creditors in order to gain time then he decided definitely to go to new orleans if the trip should help the prospects of the democrats well and good I 1 writes marquis james in his andrew jackson portrait of a president the real object was to relieve his son the time was short on december 23 the general drove to nashville and drew in advance on his cotton after paying two notes for young andrew and a few other bills only enough remained for traveling expenses to new orleans so he borrowed which was placed to the credit of his son on the day before christmas andrew jr had ii not ot returned from mississippi jac jackson akson could delay big departure no longer scratch ing directions to the boy to pay the lewis note and other debts to the extent of old hickory was off for louisiana to make his first public appearance in nearly three years A near tragic journey concerning that near tragic journey and its results james also writes new years day of 1840 was spent aboard an ohio river packet menaced by drifting ice at memphis jackson obtained from albert ward pledges which he hoped would balance andrew jr s obligations to the ward creditors on januarys January Janu arys 4 the steamer vicksburg chartered by the state of mississippi and loaded with notables took the general aboard what followed was a nightmare stricken with a hemorrhage which made every breath torture the veteran drummed out the last reserves of his will power determined to go through with the journey or fall in the struggle 11 1 I 1 have found that complaining never eased pain he said the endless receptions the speeches the pageantry the fireworks the shouting were somehow endured for 10 days and nights leaning on his cane the chieftain slowly mounted the ridge that had been the rampart beside the rodriquez canal dim old eyes looked on a level field of cane stubble anica which memory may have peopled with pulsing platoons in red tunics la latticed by white cross belts hedges of bayonets receding into infinity thus did the hero of new orleans look upon the scene of his triumph a quarter of a century earlier where he had won that amazing victory with which in the words of another biographer gerald W johnson in his andrew jacksonian Jack jackson an epic in homespun he had saved the self respect of the country because of ft t that country was literally crazed with joy and in its delirium flung the name of andrew jackson against the stars A hero goes home after the 10 day celebration was over jackson started tor or his home in tennessee alone in the cabin of a homeward bound steamer the pain passed and a feeling of peace filled the heart of the soldier writes james he hoped he had done something to save mr van buren in any event he believed he had saved andrew As it turned out both hopes were vain for in the tumultuous log cabin and hard cider campaign that year the singing whigs with their shouts of tippecanoe and tyler tool and van van is a used up manill man swept the little magician out of the white house and installed old tippecanoe harrison there in his place As for andrew it is true that his foster father isavee saved him but only temporarily for the young man seems to have had a perfect genius for bad business practices and before the weary old general had laid down his burdens on june 8 1845 1815 five years and six months to a day after his triumphant return to new orleans those burdens had been added toby to by his foster son extent of As andrew jackson returning to new orleans in encee the endless receptions speeches pageantry fireworks etc one wonders if perhaps he remembered the reception that had been given him by that city immediately after his victory 25 years before and remembering smiled inwardly at all the recollection of what followed so soon ort afterwards sl I 1 that reception is described in the first of marquis james two volume biography andrew jackson the border captain as follows the city gave him a latin welcome pierre favrot sea seated by a window overlooking the place darmes undertook to describe it to his wife never my dear have I 1 seen such a crowd all the troops arriving to the strains of military music of the cannons more tha than n people of whom were armed tomorrow they will crown the general twelve young girls will strew his path with flowers this they did on the morrow and much more at the door of the church he was received by the abbe dubourg in his robes of office and attended by a college of priests the choir began to chant the majestic lines of the te deum the people in the church took up the hymn it spread to the lips of the throng that filled the square as all new orleans poured forth its gratitude for deliverance short lived gratitude but that gratitude was short lived and the hero of yesterday was in their minds a tyrant the next day when new orleans awakened somewhat amazed to find itself to all intents once more in a state of siege the tight restrictions of martial law were re imposed militia companies which had looked forward to prompt disbandment were marched into camps and set t to C drilling reserve companies not under arms before because there were no arms to give them were called out the dilatory cargo 0 of M I 1 5 GEN ANDREW JACKSON 1815 A miniature on ivory made in new orleans by jean francois vallee a frenchman who painted in the napoleonic tradition war department rifles having arrived andrew jackson expected his victory to have bearing 0 on n the tedious negotiations he assumed to be in progress at ghent but he took no chances As rumors that a treaty of peace had indeed been signed began to drift into the city the dissatisfaction with jacksons restrictions strict ions on the citizens of new orleans and the resentment of the volunteers and the militia against being kept under arms increased there were frequent desertions and finally open mutiny to deal with both jackson used the same iron hand with which he had ruled his soldiers during the campaign against the creek indians this brought him into a collision with the civil authorities ties clash with civil authority federal judge dominick A hall was determined to establish the fact that a writ of habeas corpus issued in his court should not be superseded by the rules of martial law jackson had not I 1 only dared to disregard such a writ but had arrested hall for aiding abetting and exciting mutiny within my camp and locking him up freed when martial law was revoked at the receipt of the news of the peace treaty hall had mounted the bench again issuing a summons directing jackson to show cause why he should not be held in contempt of court for his refusal to recognize the writ of habeas I 1 corpus so it came to pass that late in march 1815 the hero of new orleans stood before the bar of civil justice and heard judge hall impose upon him a fine of 1000 and costs but refrain from including imprisonment in the sentence because it was impossible to forget the important services of the defendant to the country after that jackson walked out of the courtroom court room the idol of the tha cheering crowd they unhitched the horses and dragged his carriage to the exchange coffee house the idol of new orleans he remained until his departure in may for his home in tennessee that departure was taken in triumph public farewells private leave takings exchanges of costly gifts A purse was raised to discharge the fine imposed by dominick hall but andrew jackson waved it aside requesting that the money be distributed among the families of soldiers who had fallen in battle