that was not warranted by justice. They have endured many insults from the governors and other officers of Spain, which, if sanctioned by their sovereign, amounted to acts of war, without any previous declaration on the subject. They have excited the savages to war, and afforded them the means of waging it. The property of our citizens has been captured at sea, and if compensation has not been refused, it has at least been withheld. But as no such powers have been delegated to me, I shall not assume them, but leave them to the representatives of our respective governments.

"I have the honor of being entrusted with the command of this district. Charged with its protection, and the safety of its citizens, I feel my ability to discharge the task, and trust your excellency will always find me ready and willing to go forward in the performance of that duty, whenever circumstances shall render it necessary. I agree with you, perfectly, that candour and polite language should, at all times, characterize the communications between the officers of friendly sovereignties; and I assert, without the fear of contradiction, that my former letters were couched in terms the most respectful and unexceptionable. I only requested, and did not demand, as you asserted, the ringleaders of the Creek confederacy, who had taken refuge in your town, and who had violated all laws, moral, civil, and divine. This I had a right to do, from the treaty which I sent you, and which I now again enclose, with a request that you will change your translation : believing, as I do, that your former one was wrong, and has deceived you.

"What kind of an answer you returned, a reference to your letter will explain. The whole of it breathed nothing but hostility, grounded upon assumed facts, and false charges, and entirely evading the inquiries that had been made.

"I can but express my astonishment at your protest against the cession on the Alabama lying within the acknowledged jurisdiction of the United States, and which has been ratified, in due form, by the principal chiefs and warriors of the nation. But my astonishment subsides, when, on comparing it, I find it upon a par with the rest of your letter and conduct; taken together, they afford a sufficient justification for any cousequences that may ensue. My government will protect every inch of her territory, her citizens, and her property, from insult and depredation, regardiess of the political revolutions of Europe; and although she has been at all times sedulous to preserve a good understanding with all the world, yet she has sacred rights, that cannot be trampled upon with impuni ty. Spain had better look to her own intestine commotions,

before she walks forth in that majesty of strength and power, which you threaten to draw down upon the United States. Your excellency has been candid enough to admit your having supplied the Indians with arms. In addition to this, I have learned that a British flag has been seen flying on one of your forts. All this is done whilst you are pretending to be neutral.

"You cannot be surprised, then, but on the contrary will provide a fort in your town, for my soldiers and Indians, should I take it in my head to pay you a visit.

"In future, I beg you to withhold your insulting charges against my government, for one more inclined to listen to slander than I am; nor consider me any more a diplomatic character, unless so proclaimed to you from the mouths of my

cannon."

At this time, in the year 1814, Gen. Jackson was raised to the rank of Major General in the army of the United States, and commander of the 7th Military District. This district included the most Southern part of the United States. At this time the English rendezvoused at Pensacola, and were aided by the Spanish Governor-Jackson knew it; and the limits of this memoir will permit us only to say, that Jackson went to Pensacola, and drove the British away. This act protected Mobile and the surrounding country.

The defence of New-Orleans now attracted the attention of the nation. The English victories of Waterloo, turned their attention to the war in America; two large armies were formed to make a descent upon the country; the one at the north, and the other upon New-Orleans.

"At no period since the declaration of American Independence, in July, 1776, to December, 1814, had an American commander a duty of more importance and difficulty to discharge, than had General Jackson at this portentous period. At Mobile, with means apparently wholly insufficient, (to use his own language,) he had "a sickly climate, as well as an enemy to contend with." At New-Orleans, he had to contend with the consternation of the citizens, the insolence of judicial power, and the timorous policy of the legislature of Louisiana; as well as against the most powerful land and naval force, that had, for forty years, menaced any one place in the Republic. He had also to contend with the prejudices, the favoritism, and the perfidiousness of foreigners, a vast number of whom had migrated to Louisiana before its cession to the Republic, by Mr. Monroe's treaty."

Gov. Claiborne, who then presided over the state of Louisiana, in addressing himself to Gen. Jackson, thus expresses himself:

There is in this city a much greater spirit of disaffection, than I had anticipated; and among the faithful Louisianians, there is a despondency which palsies all my preparations; they see no strong regular force, around which they could rally with confidence, and they seem to think themselves not within the reach of seasonable assistance, from the western states. I am assured, Sir, you will make the most judicious dispositions of the forces under your command; but excuse me for suggesting, that the presence of the seventh regiment, at or near New-Orleans, will have the most salutary effect. The garrison here at present, is alarmingly weak, and is a cause of much regret: from the great mixture of persons, and characters, in this city, we have as much to apprehend from within as from without. In arresting the intercourse between New-Orleans and Pensacola you have done right. Pensacola, is in fact, an enemy's post, and had our commercial intercourse with it continued, the supplies furnished to the enemy, would have so much exhausted our own stock of provisions, as to have occasioned the most serious inconvenience to ourselves.

"I was on the point of taking on myself the prohibition of the trade with Pensacola; I had prepared a proclamation to that effect, and would have issued it the very day I heard of your interposition. Enemies to the country, may blame you for your prompt and energetic measures; but, in the person of every patriot you will find a supporter. I am very confident of the very lax police of this city, and indeed, throughout the state, with respect to the visits of strangers. I think with you, that our country is filled with spies and traitors. I have written pressingly on the subject, to the city authorities and parish judges-I hope some efficient regulations will speedily be adopted by the first, and more vigilance exerted for the future, by the latter."

In the third letter, the governor observes-"The only diffi culty I have hitherto experienced, in meeting the requisition, has been in this city, and exclusively from some European Frenchmen, who, after giving their adhesion to Louis XVIII. have, through the medium of the French consul, claimed exemption from the drafts, as French subjects. The question of exemption, however, is now under discussion, before a spe~ cial court of inquiry, and I am not without hopes, that these ungrateful men, may yet be, brought to a discharge of their duties.

You have been informed of the contents of an intercepted letter, written by Col. Coliel, a Spanish officer, to Capt. Morales, of Pensacola. This letter was submitted for the opin

on of the attorney general of the state, as to the measures to e pursued against the writer. The attorney general was of opinion, that the courts could take no cognizance of the same; but that the governor might order the writer to leave the state, and in case of refusal, to send him off by force. I accordingly, sir, ordered Col. Coliel to take his departure, in forty-eight hours, for Pensacola, and gave him the necessary passports. I hope this measure may meet your approbation. It is a just retaliation for the conduct lately observed by the governor of Pensacola, and may induce the Spaniards residing among us, to be less communicative upon those subjects which relate to our military movements."

In another letter, this patriotic chief-magistrate says to Gen. Jackson, "If Louisiana is invaded, I shall put myself at the head of such of my militia as will follow me to the field, and on receiving, shall obey your orders." It will be remembered, that the venerable Gov. Shelby, of Kentucky, served under Maj. Gen. Harrison, when he obtained his signal victory over Gen. Proctor. In addition to this explicit evidence, furnished by Gov. Claiborne, Charles K. Blanchard, Esq. writes to Gen. Jackson, thus-"Quarter-Master Peddie, of the British army, observed [to me,] that the commanding officers of the British forces, were daily in the receipt of every information from the city of New-Orleans, which they might require in aid of their operations, for the completion of the objects of the expedition ;-that they were perfectly acquainted with the situation of every part of our forces, the manner in which the same was situated, the number of our fortifications, their strength, position, &c. He furthermore stated, that the above information was received from persons in the city of NewOrleans, from whom he could, at any hour, procure every information necessary to promote his majesty's interest!!"

"We have been thus particular in describing the situation in which Gen. Jackson found the citizens of Louisiana, its legislature, and its capital, upon his arrival there, early in December, 1814, because it induced, and indeed, compelled him to resort to a measure which had never before been resorted to in the Republic, since the adoption of the Constitution THE DECLARATION OF MARTIAL LAW. This took place on the 16th of the month, twenty-three days before the splen did victory, which secured the city of New-Orleans and the states bordering upon the Mississippi, from the rapacity of an enemy, whose principles of warfare had been demonstrated, upon the western frontier, at Havre-de-Grace, at Hampton, and at Washington!"

B

The splendid events of the defence of New-Orleans, by General Jackson, are too fresh in the recollection of the present age, to require a minute recapitulation. The glory of the 8th of January will forever be remembered; and the tender feelings of Jackson, as evinced in his letters to the then Secretary at War, Mr. Monroe, show that he is something more than a military hero. He expresses himself, in effect, as follows:"It is my business to defend-I have freemen for my soldiers, and their lives are too valuable to be thrown away for the mere acquisition of military fame." That Gen. Jackson acted upon these principles is obvious, when we call to mind the fact, that in the various actions that took place before NewOrleans, from the 20th of December, 1814, up to the 8th of January, 1815, the English lost more than four thousand men, whilst the American loss did not exceed four hundred.

General Jackson's Address, after the final retreat of the English, speaks volumes, and is as follows:

ADDRESS,

Directed by Maj. Gen. Jackson, to be read at the head of each of the corps composing the line below New-Orleans, January 21, 1815.

Citizens, and fellow soldiers! The enemy has retreated, and your general has now leisure to proclaim to the world what he has noticed with admiration and pride-your undaunted courage, your patriotism, and patience, under hardships and fatigues. Natives of different states, acting together for the first time in this camp; differing in habits and in language, instead of viewing in these circumstances, the germ of distrust and division, you have made them the source of an honourable emulation, and from the seeds of discord itself, have reaped the fruits of an honourable union. This day completes the fourth week, since fifteen hundred of you attacked treble your number of men, who had boasted of their discipline and their services under a celebrated leader, in a long and eventful war-attacked them in their camp, the moment they had profaned the soil of freedom with their hostile tread, and inflicted a blow which was a prelude to the final result of their attempt to conquer, or their poor contrivances to divide us. A few hours was sufficient to unite the gallant band, though at the moment they received the welcome order to march, they were separated many leagues, in different directions from the city. The gay rapidity of the march, and the cheerful countenances of the officers and men, would have induced a belief that some festive entertainment, not the strife of battle, was the scene to which they hastened with so much sagerness and hilarity. In the conflict that ensued, the same