"War Hawks Inflame the Nation"... New exhibit highlights John Sevier and the War of 1812

   January 8, 2015 marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans -- a pivotal moment in Tennessee's history and in the course of our nation. In recognition of this important historical milestone, my colleagues at the Tennessee State Library and Archives have just opened a new exhibit entitled, "Answering the Call: Tennesseans in the War of 1812."

   The exhibit features 16 panels full of images and information exploring the political and military actions of Tennesseans in the War of 1812. Watching as workers installed the exhibit, I was pleased to see that my old friend John Sevier made an appearance on one of the exhibit panels. That's Sevier on the right of this photograph among a gathering of "War Hawks" who sought to rally the nation behind a declaration of war against Great Britain...

"Answering the Call: Tennesseans in the War of 1812" -- A sneak peek at the new exhibit on display now through mid-April at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Author photo.

   On June 4, 1812, Sevier joined seventy-eight of his congressional colleagues and voted for a formal declaration of war against Great Britain in retaliation for British interference with American trade, the impressment of American sailors, and for perceived instigations of Indian attacks against frontier settlers. In a letter written to Tennessee Governor Willie Blount following the passage of the war resolution, Sevier declared, "We have at length passed the Rubicon. War is finally declared against Britain and her dependencies." Sevier's letter burned with hatred toward the enemy, especially the Creek Indians, whom he believed the British supported. "Fire and sword must be carried into that country before those wretches will be reduced to reason or become peaceable neighbors," Sevier raged. He continued, "There can be no reliance or trust placed in them. No doubt British emissaries are among them."

   I find it ironic that Sevier's mortal enemy, Andrew Jackson, actually carried the "fire and sword" into the War of 1812. General Jackson's defeat of the Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend proved devastating for the Creek Indians, and his subsequent victory at the Battle of New Orleans secured his place as a national hero, launching Jackson's political career to new heights, all the while overshadowing Sevier's legacy as "Tennessee's First Hero."

   The War of 1812 exhibit at the Tennessee State Library and Archives is visually stunning and informative and insightful, with text written by historians who have a keen knowledge of the subject and of the time period. I hope you'll make plans to visit the Tennessee State Library and Archives to learn more about this conflict and the Tennesseans who helped shape its outcome. The exhibit will remain open until mid-April. More information can be found on the TSLA Blog at: http://tslablog.blogspot.com/2015/01/new-tsla-exhibit-explores-tennessees.html.

   Considering the subject matter, I would be remiss if I did not also mention that Andrew Jackson's Hermitage is opening a brand new exhibit of their own entitled, "Born for a Storm," which has received quite a bit of media attention in recent weeks. The Hermitage plans to open the exhibit on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, and admission is free on Jan. 8th! A few of my professional colleagues at TSLA and friends in the public history profession will be in attendance during this special event. It should be a banner day for "Old Hickory" and the "War Hawks." Visit The Hermitage website at http://thehermitage.com/visit/exhibits/born-for-a-storm/ for further information.



 

Gordon Belt is an information professional, archives advocate, public historian, and author of The History Press book, John Sevier: Tennessee's First Hero, which examines the life of Tennessee's first governor, John Sevier, through the lens of history and memory. On The Posterity Project, Gordon offers reflections on archives, public history, and memory from his home state of Tennessee.

Old Frontiers...

   In the course of research, whether browsing for source material at a library, archive, or online, my eyes sometimes wander towards rediscovery. John P. Brown's 1938 book, Old Frontiers: The Story of the Cherokee Indians from Earliest Times to the Date of Their Removal to the West, 1838, falls within that realm of remembrance. Old Frontiers is a book I've known about for quite some time, but only recently -- during the research phase for my book, John Sevier: Tennessee's First Hero -- did I have an opportunity to explore its pages with renewed awareness.

A resident of Chattanooga, Tennessee, for years
John P. Brown lectured in schools, civic clubs, and
women's organizations on the subject of Cherokee history.
Image credit: The Nashville Banner, Aug. 17, 1938.

   The book's subtitle reveals the scope of Brown's interest, and from the opening Preface of Old Frontiers, Brown reveals his desire to correct the narrative of Cherokee history -- a history that for a century "used the language of the United States Government" to chronicle the plight of the Cherokees. Brown blamed white settlers and their desire for land, along with the discovery of gold in Cherokee territory, for the swift nature of Indian removal. A "calm study of the facts," Brown wrote, "brings conviction that it was both inhumane and unnecessary." Brown cast a particularly critical eye towards Andrew Jackson in his Preface. "The one man responsible for Cherokee removal," Brown wrote, "was that strong character, Andrew Jackson."

   Brown, a Chattanooga native, wrote Old Frontiers in the midst of the Great Depression. That economic calamity and the societal pressures surrounding it surely influenced Brown's account of the Cherokee removal that occurred a century earlier. At the beginning of the twentieth century, scholars and historians, like Brown, attempted to debunk the myths and legends crafted by earlier chroniclers. Global war, economic chaos and what one contemporary scholar termed "the intrusive thrust of modernism" led many writers of the period to bring the past "down to non-heroic yet human proportions."

   In a review of Old Frontiers entitled, "The Cherokee Nation: A Careful Study of Unsavory History," published in the Nashville Tennessean, Sept. 18, 1938, writer Sam Carson made the following observation of Brown's work: "We gather, by preponderance of evidence, that the Cherokees were more loyal to whites than any other race, that is, in the South. They fought more for white men than against them. They were sold out time and again by bribed leaders. Their rebellions were inspired by constant encroachments. And only recently have we brought ourselves around to admit injustices to the original residents of North America."

   Despite Brown's effort to correct history's slight of the Cherokees, his narrative still deified many of the white settlers who he ultimately blamed for the Cherokee removal, including John Sevier, who Brown described as an "unselfish commander" whose "whole-hearted acceptance" by the "rough and ready frontiersmen" made him an indispensable leader on the frontier.

Old Frontiers by John P. Brown

   Brown devoted an entire chapter of his book to John Sevier entitled, "Nolichucky Jack Rides," in which he absolved Sevier of wrongdoing during his fiery campaign against the Cherokees and their settlements. According to Brown, Sevier "was one of the settlers, understood their attitude, and sympathized with them... Not a settler's cabin did Sevier pull down; he had in mind rather the destruction of other habitations, those of the red men. Yet Sevier had so impressed the Cherokees with his spirit of fairness that they were willing to rest their case in his hands: 'Send us Colonel Sevier, who is a good man.'"

   Brown also absolved the Cherokees from blame for their own depredations against the settlers of the Trans-Appalachian frontier, suggesting that they fought for the same cause as the white man. "If the Indian scalped his enemy, or burned at the stake the man who would take his country," Brown wrote, "it was nonetheless America for which he fought, with the only means at his command. Recognizing the faults of the red man, and balancing them against his treatment at our hands, the scales tip in his favor."

   Despite its tortured and paternalistic hagiography, Brown's Old Frontiers is an entertaining read, broad in scope, yet filled with individual tales of adventure. There is much that the frontier scholar and Early American historian can gain from reading this volume. Brown drew liberally from both primary and secondary sources, and provided readers with copious footnotes. These sources provide the reader with an opportunity to deeply explore this world from the perspective of the actors themselves and from the scholars who interpreted their actions. History and memory, themes explored frequently on this blog, are also present throughout Brown's work. The stories found within this volume are ripe for further analysis, making Old Frontiers a book worthy of rediscovery and scholarly interpretation.


Old Frontiers by John P. Brown, Southern Publishers, Inc., Kingsport, Tenn., 1938, is available in most public or university libraries, and may be purchased through any number of used book stores or antiquarian book dealers.




Gordon Belt is an information professional, archives advocate, public historian, and author of The History Press book, John Sevier: Tennessee's First Hero, which examines the life of Tennessee's first governor, John Sevier, through the lens of history and memory. On The Posterity Project, Gordon offers reflections on archives, public history, and memory from his home state of Tennessee.

Dean Cornwell's artistic vision of John Sevier

   In my book, John Sevier: Tennessee's First Hero, I examine how historians, storytellers, aging Revolutionary War veterans, and Sevier descendants remembered John Sevier and his accomplishments. Artists are another group mentioned in my book. Charles Willson Peale's enduring portrait of John Sevier, for example, served as inspiration for the cover of my book and showed how an artist's patriotic vision helped bring Sevier's reputation as "Tennessee's First Hero" into visual focus.

   Illustrator Dean Cornwell also helped shape the public memory of Tennessee's early history and John Sevier's role in it. A prolific artist of the early twentieth century, Cornwell illustrated several works for a wide variety of magazines and advertisers and painted more than twenty murals for various public institutions. In the process, Cornwell became one of the nation's most popular and famous muralists.

   In Tennessee, Cornwell painted several extraordinary murals during the Great Depression. In 1937 Cornwell painted an Art Deco style mural for the Davidson County Courthouse which one scholar described as one of the "most important Public Works of Art projects in Tennessee." For that work, Cornwell chose a scheme of four allegorical figures in heroic poses to represent themes of Agriculture, Industry, Commerce, and Statesmanship -- a consistent artistic theme that carried over into two of his later works located within the John Sevier State Office Building in downtown Nashville.

In this allegorical depiction of early Tennessee history, John Sevier is the central figure in Dean Cornwell's colorful mural, The Discovery of Tennessee. Author Photo.

   In 1941, Cornwell painted The Discovery of Tennessee and The Development of Tennessee in the grand entrance to this New Deal era structure. The murals, located on opposing walls of the building's grand entrance, depict two distinct phases of Tennessee history. On one mural Cornwell's artistic vision of early Tennessee history surrounds John Sevier dressed in full Revolutionary War uniform and flanked by a patriotic thirteen-star American flag. Cornwell positioned Andrew Jackson at the center of the mural located on the opposite wall surrounded by similar depictions of Tennessee history from the nineteenth and early twentieth century.

   Known for his extensive research into the history and geography of his subjects, Cornwell took great pains to present his artistic vision of Tennessee's past as historically accurate as possible. The detail found in Cornwell's artwork is striking, right down to the stitches in the clothing painted on the walls of this vast mural. Cornwell's work evokes feelings of power and nostalgia for a patriotic past, something America needed in this particular time of economic uncertainty.

One half of Dean Cornwell's mural located in the lobby of the John Sevier State Office Building in Nashville, Tennessee. On the left, Cornwell poses for a photograph with his artistic vision of Andrew Jackson and Tennessee History in this image from the Tennessee State Library and Archives, Record Group 82, Department of Conservation Photograph Collection.

   The fact that these two murals face one another seems somewhat ironic considering the personal animosity that existed between Sevier and Jackson. Yet upon reflection, I think Cornwell's positioning of these historic icons accurately portrayed public sentiment toward these two towering figures of the "Volunteer State." The writer E. E. Miller once said of Tennesseans, "We have had no real State hero since the pioneer days. The list began with John Sevier and ended with Andrew Jackson." I think Cornwell would likely agree with Miller's statement and perhaps sought some sort of artistic validation for Miller's words in the creation of this historic mural.

   The John Sevier State Office Building stands as a historic reminder of the New Deal era architecture that brought stability to a chaotic world mired in a Great Depression. Sadly, the architectural legacy left behind by this building, and the mural within it, have been long forgotten by those who prefer the modern efficiencies of the twenty-first century workplace. Those of us who appreciate Tennessee's historic buildings, on the other hand, certainly hope and pray that this building, and others like it, survive society's inevitable move toward modernity.

Gordon Belt is an information professional, archives advocate, public historian, and author of The History Press book, John Sevier: Tennessee's First Hero, which examines the life of Tennessee's first governor, John Sevier, through the lens of history and memory. On The Posterity Project, Gordon offers reflections on archives, public history, and memory from his home state of Tennessee.




SELECTED SOURCES:

---

"A century of progress: twentieth century painting in Tennessee." Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Spring 2002, Volume LXI, Number 1. pp. 25-26.

Walt Reed. The Illustrator in America, 1880-1980: A Century of Illustration. New York: Published for the Society of Illustrators by Madison Square Press, 1984, p. 119.

"Dean Cornwell." Retrieved July 12, 2014, from the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture.

"Dean Cornwell: American Imagist." Retrieved July 8, 2014, from the National Museum of American Illustration.

The last casualty of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend...

Last week, historians and scholars observed the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, the bloody culmination of a violent phase of the War of 1812 known as the Creek War. My colleague Myers Brown wrote an excellent piece on the battle for the Tennessee State Library and Archives blog featuring some unique archival items related to the battle. I highly encourage you to read Myers' article on the TSLA Blog to learn more about this important moment in Tennessee history and the history of our nation. To supplement this story, I thought I would share an edited excerpt from my book, John Sevier: Tennessee's First Hero, which addresses a little-known outcome of the battle.

Andrew Jackson's defeat of the Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend proved devastating for the Creek Indians, and led to the eventual demise of one of Jackson's most bitter rivals, John Sevier. Sevier and Jackson were bitter enemies, yet they stood united in their mutual disdain for the British and their Native American allies. On June 4, 1812, Sevier joined seventy-eight of his congressional colleagues and voted for a formal declaration of war against Great Britain. In a letter written to Tennessee governor Willie Blount following the vote, Sevier conveyed his feelings on the matter. He declared, "We have at length passed the Ribicon. War is finally declared against Britain and her dependencies." Sevier's letter burned with hatred toward the enemy, especially the Creek Indians, whom he believed the British supported. "Fire and sword must be carried into that country before those wretches will be reduced to reason or become peaceable neighbors," Sevier raged. He continued, "There can be no reliance or trust placed in them. No doubt British emissaries are among them." Anti-British sentiment ran high in Tennessee, and rumors of a growing Creek presence along Tennessee's borders armed with British weaponry only served to fan the flames of war even higher.
 

Creek chief William "Red Eagle" Weatherford surrenders to Andrew Jackson on August 9, 1814, ending the Creek War. Tennessee Historical Society Collection, Tennessee State Library and Archives

Jackson's militia laid waste to the Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, and following the victory and Creek surrender, President James Madison appointed Sevier as a commissioner to run the boundary line of the new Creek Nation. In agreeing to the terms of the treaty, the Creeks ceded more than 20 million acres of territory in southern Georgia and central Alabama to their nation's conquerors. Despite his lingering bitterness toward Jackson over their previous encounters, Sevier accepted the appointment and departed his plantation home near Knoxville on June 10, 1815, to begin what would be his final expedition.

Sevier made several entries in his diary following his departure. Although these consisted mostly of mundane observations about the weather and provisions, by August, the summer heat and the arduous journey began to take its toll on his aged body. On August 26, 1815, Sevier noted, "Some unwell with pain in my back." By September 9th, he observed that one of his traveling companions became "very sick." In the days that followed, Sevier himself contracted a fever. A few days later, he breathed his last breath. On September 24, 1815, Sevier died in his tent on the Creek boundary, ironically as duty called him to survey territory conquered by his most bitter rival, Andrew Jackson.

On March 29, 1889, years after his death, the Daily Picayune newspaper of New Orleans printed the legend that emerged from that dark day:

There is a pretty story still told around the firesides in this country of how Governor Sevier came to his death. He was attending a feast of the Indians known as the "Green Corn Dance," and although nearly 72 years of age, was there participating in the festivities of the evening. The next day, while on his return to Fort Decatur, he was taken suddenly sick, and while being carried across the Tallapoosa river, and feeling that he was dying, he said to his attendants that if they would carry him to a big spring about a mile away and let him get a drink of the water he thought he would get well. But he died while crossing the river, and his body was buried on top of the hill overlooking the big spring to which he had referred, and whose waters still sing a constant requiem near his grave.

Sevier's companions buried him with military honors on a spot of land not far from where he fell ill, on the east bank of the Tallapoosa River near Fort Decatur, Alabama. A simple two-foot-long oak stump charred at its end marked his grave. Unaware of Sevier's illness, Tennesseans had reelected him to Congress without opposition a few weeks prior. News of his death, however, quickly spread to the state capitol where members of the Tennessee General Assembly mourned their fallen hero. On October 26, 1815, state senator Adam R. Huntsman offered a resolution that each member of the legislature wear a crepe on the left arm for thirty days "in honor to the memory of that distinguished fellow citizen, statesman, and patriot."


 
Gordon Belt is an information professional, archives advocate, public historian, and author of The History Press book, John Sevier: Tennessee's First Hero, which examines the life of Tennessee's first governor, John Sevier, through the lens of history and memory. On The Posterity Project, Gordon offers reflections on archives, public history, and memory from his home state of Tennessee.

Dueling personalities: Nolichucky Jack versus Old Hickory

Echoing E. E. Miller's observation about Tennessee's frontier roots, Carl S. Driver noted in his biography, John Sevier: Pioneer of the Old Southwest, that Tennessee has had "no real state hero since the pioneer days. The list began with John Sevier and ended with Andrew Jackson."

Miniature portrait of John Sevier by James Willson Peale.
Image courtesy of the Tennessee Portrait Project
National Colonial Dames of America in Tennessee

Indeed, the Volunteer State has had no larger political figures in its history than "Nolichucky Jack" (Sevier) and "Old Hickory" (Jackson). The interaction between these two men has been the subject of considerable inquiry by historians. What I find particularly fascinating is how John Sevier was portrayed in the press of the day, and much later by his biographers, following their famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) duel on October 16, 1803.

The personal rivalry between John Sevier and Andrew Jackson began in 1796 when Jackson offered himself as a candidate for major general of the state militia. Governor Sevier, however, favored another person, George Conway, and helped to secure Conway's election to that post. Jackson became infuriated, but Sevier brushed the young upstart politician aside, claiming that he cared little about the charges of a "poor pitiful petty fogging Lawyer."

The feud between Sevier and Jackson escalated after Sevier himself was denied the same position in the state militia by then-Governor Archibald Roane in favor of Andrew Jackson. Sevier used the political defeat as motivation to earn a second term as governor, but during the election, Sevier was greeted with charges of bribery and scandal. Andrew Jackson produced documents claiming Sevier had engaged in a massive land fraud, asserting that Sevier conspired to destroy original records of land ownership, replacing them with forged claims. He further alleged that Sevier resorted to bribery to keep the replacement quiet.

Despite these claims, Sevier was successful in his campaign for governor, but he was still chafing under the humiliation of Jackson’s accusation. So when the two men encountered one another on the courthouse steps in Knoxville, Tennessee on October 1, 1803, a confrontation was inevitable.

H.W. Brands writes a vivid account of this courthouse confrontation in his book, Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times:

"One day they met outside the courthouse and exchanged words. Their voices rose as their emotions engaged, and onlookers gathered around. After heated words, Sevier apparently challenged Jackson to draw arms. But since Jackson carried only a cane, against Sevier's sword, he declined. The hot language continued. Evidently Sevier alluded to Jackson's lack of military experience before becoming major general, for Jackson defended his services to the state and the nation." "'Services?'" Sevier riposted. 'I know of no great service you rendered the country, except taking a trip to Natchez with another man's wife.'"

With that insult, John Sevier crossed a line from which he could not retreat. Stunned silence filled the air, but soon afterward "Old Hickory" came to the defense of his wife's honor. "Great God! Do you mention her sacred name?" said Jackson, who then lunged at Sevier. The crowd quickly separated the two men but this was only the beginning of their confrontation. The next day Andrew Jackson launched into a written tirade against the Governor and challenged him to a duel:

"The ungentlemanly expressions and gasconading conduct of yours relative to me on yesterday was in true character of yourself, and unmasks you to the world, and plainly shows that they were the ebullitions of a base mind goaded with stubborn proofs of fraud and flowing from a source devoid of every refined sentiment or delicate sensation... The voice of the people has made you a governor. This alone makes you worthy of my notice or the notice of any gentleman. To the office I bear respect... As such I only deign to notice you, and call upon you for that satisfaction and explanation that your ungentlemanly conduct and expressions require. For this purpose I request an interview (duel)... My friend who will hand you this will point out the time and place when and where I shall expect to see you with your friend and no other person. My friend and myself will be armed with pistols. You cannot mistake me or my meaning."

Sevier responded in kind to Jackson's challenge in a letter of his own filled with words of equal vitriol, matching almost word-for-word Jackson's own letter in a mocking rebuke:

"Your ungentlemanly and gasconading conduct of yesterday, and indeed at all other times heretofore, have unmasked yourself to me and to the world. The voice of the Assembly has made you a judge, and this alone has made you worthy of my notice or any other gentleman's. To the office I have respect... I shall wait on you with pleasure at any time and place not within the State of Tennessee, attended by my friend with pistols, presuming you know nothing about the use of any other arms. Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina are all within our vicinity... You cannot mistake me and my meaning."

The stage was set and a duel was imminent. Andrew Jackson agreed to meet John Sevier saying, "If it will obviate your squeemish fears, I will set out immediately to the nearest part of the Indian boundary line... you must meet me between this and four o'clock this afternoon, or I will publish you as a coward and poltroon." The two men traded barbs in several letters over the next few days, but finally on October 16, 1803 Sevier and Jackson crossed paths as Sevier was making his way to a conference with the Cherokee Indians.

Portrait of Andrew Jackson by Charles Willson Peale, 1819.
Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

The chaotic events of that day were blurred by loyalties to both parties, and chronicled by partisan newspapers representing both sides of the dispute -- a tradition going back to the founding of our nation. An affidavit signed by a witness favoring Jackson reported that after Sevier refused to accept a note from Jackson he dismounted his horse and drew his pistols. Jackson then did the same, and soon after Sevier took refuge behind a tree. According to the witness, Jackson remarked that, as both were armed, Sevier should come out from behind his protection and fire. "After some time," the witness concluded, "I prevailed General Jackson to desist, finding that General Sevier would not defend himself."

News accounts favoring Jackson portrayed John Sevier's actions as that of a "rogue" and a "coward." Sevier's partisans, however, saw no weakness in their Governor. The Tennessee Gazette of November 25, 1803, defended Gov. Sevier against charges of cowardice in an anonymous article written by a "Citizen of Knox County":

"The Judge has published the Governor a coward, and for what reason? Why, because he says so himself and that the Governor would not turn out Don Quixote like, to fight a duel at the seat of government, and in the face of the General Assembly, and for doing of which was sure to have been fined, imprisoned sixty days without bail or mainprize and deprived of his citizenship for twelve months, which would have been gratification to the judge and his party, immeasurably indeed. Now, let us ask, how many hundreds of respectable characters are in this and several other states, who have been eye witnesses of the Governor's courage; where he displayed as much as was necessary to be found in the most experienced veteran? Who is it that have fought the battles of this country, and drove from its borders its numerous and desperate enemies? Who are the people beholden to for the settlement of the same? Is he not the man, whose exertions have taken from the numerous hords the savage wilds and placed thereon a rising, growing and respectable republic...? Strange indeed that after so many battles and engagements the governor has encountered that such a thing as cowardice should be imputed to him!!!"

"...he (Jackson) met the Governor on the great road, armed with great rifle pistols in his hands, swearing by his maker that he had come on purpose to kill him, and that he would do it, why did not the judge fire...? I answered that at a time when the governor's horse had run off with his pistols in the holsters and was left without arms to return the fire, and of course the heroic judge had nothing to fear!"

Many years later Sevier's biographers would put no less of a partisan spin on these events. In 1898, James R. Gilmore published his book, John Sevier as a Commonwealth-Builder. In his account of the duel, Gilmore writes:

"Both were mounted, and Sevier was surrounded by about twenty horsemen. Jackson was much more thinly attended, and armed only with a cane and a brace of pistols; but, putting his cane in rest, like the lance of a plumed knight, he charged down upon Sevier most furiously. The latter dismounted to meet the assault; but a collision was prevented by the attending gentlemen, who soon pacified Jackson, and induced him to give his hand to the Governor."

Gilmore's account of the scene does not mention whether or not Sevier hid behind a tree to avoid Jackson's onslaught, and seems to go out of the way to portray Sevier as a gentleman and a peacemaker.

Another Sevier biographer, Francis M. Turner, goes even farther to defend John Sevier. In 1910, Turner published Life of General John Sevier containing prose rife with respect and admiration for his subject. Read how Turner approached the subject of the duel, downplaying Sevier's insult toward Rachel Jackson, and elevating Sevier's temperament to that of a statesman:

"Although Sevier was elected by the popular vote, there were those who, jealous of his popularity, tried to destroy his political favor by circulating false reports about him. They accused him of speculation in land-warrants and even of forgery... Sevier's popularity seems not to have been affected by these efforts to injure his reputation. But his indignation was aroused against Andrew Jackson, whom he had appointed Judge of the Superior Court. Jackson was of a very different temper from Sevier. Sevier's temper was fiery, but he was ever ready and eager to atone for any wrong he had done, while, on the other hand, Jackson rarely forgave an enemy."

"Jackson was so bold in his attacks upon Sevier's character that the old Governor became deeply angered and used some abusive language in his speeches about Jackson. Not long after the State election, Sevier and Jackson met on the public square in Knoxville, where Jackson was holding court. A quarrel ensued and Sevier accused Jackson of having been the prime-mover of the attacks upon his reputation, and further made a reference to an incident in Jackson's domestic life, upon which point Jackson was very sensitive. Jackson tried to attack Sevier on the spot, but was restrained through the intervention of his friends. The next day Jackson challenged Sevier to fight a duel."

Turner goes on to describe the dueling tradition and the correspondence between Jackson and Sevier leading up to their confrontation, but then downplays the whole event. Reading this, one might have the distinct impression that John Sevier charmed Andrew Jackson into submission:

"It seemed that a duel was inevitable; but, through negotiations of friends on both sides, matters were finally adjusted, and the two heroes were induced to join hands in friendship."

In 1932 another Sevier biographer, Carl S. Driver, provided a more scholarly approach to his subject, but still left room for admiration. In John Sevier: Pioneer of the Old Southwest, Driver stated that Sevier had "cleverly sidestepped his opponent and left Jackson with an injured reputation" immediately following their encounter. It is interesting to note that while Gilmore and Turner seemed to have glossed over Sevier's feud with Jackson, Driver acknowledged that Sevier "could not forget what he considered an unprovoked attack upon his reputation and popularity" which, according to Sevier's own diary, disturbed his thoughts and haunted his dreams:

"Curious dream. I dreamed my Father came descending in the air in what appeared at first like a cloud... I asked him if there was any news where he had been he answered that nothing existed there but the utmost peace and friendship, that he had heard much conversation respecting the Quarrel between Judge Jackson & myself, I then asked him if it was possible that affair had reached so far? He then replied that long before he had arrived the news was there and also every other transaction that had taken place in Tennessee -- I then asked him what was said? He told me that Jackson was viewed by all as a very wicked base man, and a very improper person for a judge, and said I have it in charge to intimate you either by dream or some other mode, that you have nothing to fear provided you act a prudent part for they are all your friends -- on his saying by a dream I began to think I was dreaming & immediately awaked."

So, was John Sevier a coward who trembled at the mere thought of "Old Hickory," or was he a fearless statesman and gentleman who saw Jackson as a temperamental political opportunist? Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between.


SELECTED SOURCES:

• Paul H. Bergeron, Stephen V. Ash, and Jeanette Kieth, Tennesseans and Their History. University of Tennessee Press, 1999.

• H.W. Brands, Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times. New York: Doubleday, 2005.

• Carl S. Driver, John Sevier: Pioneer of the Old Southwest. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1932.

• John R. Finger, Tennessee Frontiers: Three Regions in Transition. Indiana University Press, 2001.

• James R. Gilmore, John Sevier as a Commonwealth-Builder; A sequel to The Rear-Guard of the Revolution, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1898.

• Harriet Chappell Owsley, “The Marriages of Rachel Donelson,” Tennessee Historical Quarterly Winter 1977, Vol. xxxvi no. 4, pp. 490-91. See also: James Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, New York, 1860, I, p. 164.

• Robert V. Remini, The Life of Andrew Jackson (abridgement), Harper & Row Publishers, Inc., 1988.

• Francis M. Turner, Life of General John Sevier, The Neale Publishing Company, 1910.

 

Gordon Belt is an information professional, archives advocate, public historian, and author of The History Press book, John Sevier: Tennessee's First Hero, which examines the life of Tennessee's first governor, John Sevier, through the lens of history and memory. On The Posterity Project, Gordon offers reflections on archives, public history, and memory from his home state of Tennessee.