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Old Hickory and the Raven

Two Masons for Manifest Destiny
By Robert C.  Barnard, MPS

They were united in respect and ad-
miration for each other and in the
love of their country frpm the very first.
Yet, they were not even of the same generation.

Andrew Jackson was born in 1767 and
fought in the Revolutionary War when
he was 13 . The next year, his mother and
brother, the last ot his famly died and he
was left alone. However, he met Spruce
Macay, a friendly lawyer from North
Carolina and he was adopted and
trained. Jackson was admitted to the bar
in 1787 at the age of 20 when he moved
to Nashville, Tennessee.

Sam Houston was born 26 years later,
in 1793. The war for liberty was long
over, but Houston's early life was full of
difficulties like Jackson's .

His father died when he was 13 and his
mother moved to Tennessee and put Sam
to work in a trader's store. At the age of
15, he ran away and lived with the
Cherokee Indians for 3 years. The young
"Colonneh" (Raven) was adopted into
the tribe.

It was in March of 1813 that young Sam
met the man who was to become his
model and hero. He had returned to live
with his mother in the frontier hamlet of
Marysville, Tennessee.

In the years just past, Lawyer Jackson
had become a wealthy man selling land
and practicing law. He was also Major
General of the Tennessee Militia and had
come to recruit men for our second war
against the British.

The general was amused and intrigued
to see Sam thrash the village bully much
bigger than he by challenging him first
to a long, rugged foot race and then
attacking when the bigger man was
tired. Jackson told the young man to use
these same tactics in fighting a war.

"When the enemy is superior to you in
strength, extend him, lead him a chase
until he exhausts himself; then close sud-
denly for the decisive blow. " The admir-
ing young Sam never forgot those words
and used the system many years later in
Texas.

Houston joined the Army and soon
found himself in Jackson's command
fighting the Creek Indians in Mississippi
Territory who were helping the British.
Because of his absolute faith in Jackson,
Houston charged the enemy when
ordered, even when the platoon he was
leading quit. He was terribly wounded
by many musket balls fired at close
range.

The general detailed four men to take
his young soldier friend back to Ten-
nessee and they got him there seemingly
more dead than alive. However, Sam
recovered after many months of his
mother's tender care. He then found that
Jackson had written him a letter of com-
mendation and sent him a commission as
1st lieutenant.

From this time on, the two men worked
closely together. Jackson helped Sam to
become a lawyer and then backed him to
become district attorney of Nashville at
the age of 25. Under the general's
tutelage, Sam became a Congressman at
31 and Governor of Tennessee when he
was 35.

Jackson had become the great political
leader of the West when he won the
Battle of New Orleans in 1815, defeating
9,000 British veterans who had just
crushed Napoleon at Waterloo. He had
only 5,000 backwoodsmen, but their
long rifles proved more than a match for
the British muskets and his amazing
leadership was successful. He was the
hero and hope of the common man of the
United States from that hour.

By 1829, war hero Jackson was Presi-
dent of the United States; but Governor
Sam Houston was struck from the zenith
of success to face his darkest moment in
life. He married Eliza Allen, a wealthy
and completely innocent young lady,
who had seemingly no idea what
marriage entailed. Historic writers tend
to think that the marriage was never
consummated and she went home to her
parents. Sam was blamed by society in a
way that is difficult for us to understand
today.

The Governor of Tennessee resigned
and went back to live with the Cherokee
Indians, drinking heavily to forget the
episode. The Indians ceased to call Sam
Colonneh, The Raven, and nicknamed
him "Big Drunk." It took about five
years for Sam to take any interest in the
world again.

In 1833, the 44 year old Houston
fought his way out of the alcohol induced
stupor. He found that his Cherokee
friends were being robbed and oppressed
by their government agents. These offi-
cials stole a large portion of the Indian
rations and sold them elsewhere at a
profit .

Sam induced the three paramount
chiefs to sign a treaty making him "Am-
bassador of the Cherokee Nation;" then
he returned to Washington in full savage
regalia to visit his hero, President Jack-
son. The old man was delighted to see
him again and Sam was able to right
many of the wrongs done the Cherokees.

In this manner, the old friends were
able to confer together. Jackson was
worried about the future of the United
States, whose boundary at no point
reached across the Rocky Mountains.
Mexico claimed most the old Spanish
territory in the Southwest and West and
Great Britain and Russia were reaching
for the Northwest and the Pacific Coast.
The weak United States could well be
crushed in the land grabs of the great
powers.

The president convinced Houston that
our country's only safety lay in being
able to procure all of the land from the
Atlantic to the Pacific; this was our
"manifest destiny. " He felt that the
Mexican province of Texas was the key
to unlock the continent of North Amer-
ica for the United States.

The Raven went back to tell the
Cherokee of the better laws and honest
agents who would deal with them. Then,
he left for Texas with Jackson's last words
ringing in his memory: "Texas will trig-
ger the United States in an explosion
across the continent.

He was there to be elected general of
the Texas forces when El Presidente An-
tonio Lopez de Santa Anna brought up
the entire Mexican Army of about 6,000
men to abolish the Constitution of 1824
and destroy the American colonists. He
found few men and less munitions to stop
the depredations. Texas fighters were
wiped out at Goliad and at the Alamo.

Sam began his tactics with Santa Anna
by retreating again and again. His own
men began to question if "ole Sam really
knowed what he was doin'."

In the ensuing weeks, the Mexican
forces became extended and only about
3,000 continued to pursue the little
Texan Army of 750. On reaching the
bayou near San Jacinto, Sam crossed
Vince's Bridge and then had his
lieutenant, Deaf Smith, burn it so that no
reinforcements could reach Santa Anna.
Having tired out and extended the
enemy, Sam was through retreating.

He trotted out in front of the little force
on his big white gelding, drew his sword
and bellowed, " Remember the Alamo ! "
Seven hundred desperate and enraged
Texans took up the cry and began to run
toward the Mexican lines. In less than
half an hour, the survivors of the Mexi-
can Army were on their knees imploring,
"Me no at Alamo" and the war was
over. "El Presidente" was captured the
next day. Sam and his men were heroes
and he would soon be the first president
of the Texas Republic.

However, the United States, no longer
under "Old Hickory's" leadership,
would not annex Texas to the Union, for
they knew it would mean war with Mex-
ico. Sam was a strategist, as well as a
soldier, and he pretended to consider
bringing Texas into the British Empire.
An alarmed President Polk and Con-
gress agreed to annex Texas.

Mexico then declared war on the
United States and on the bloody con-
flict's conclusion, the "manifest
destiny" which Old Hickory had dis-
cussed with The Raven came to pass.
Our nation received not only Texas, but
the territory that is now Arizona, New
Mexico, Nevada, Utah and California.
Texas had truly "triggered us in an ex-
plosion" across the continent from sea to
shining sea.

Houston had been true to his trust. On
his deathbed in June of 1845, Andrew
Jackson knew and said that "All is safe
at last." America owes much to these
great men and Masons.

MAsonic Affiiiation of Sam Houston
and Andrew Jackson:

Sam Houston was raised to the sublime
degree of Master Mason in Cumberland
Lodge #8 of Nashville, Tennessee on July
22, 1817. In Texas, he joined Holland
Lodge #1 in 1837 and presided over the
establishment of the Grand Lodge of
Texas .

Although the exact date of Andrew
Jackson's becoming a Master Mason is
in doubt, we know that he was a member
of Harmony Lodge #l of Nashville, Ten-
nessee by 1800. He was Grand Master of
the Grand Lodge of Tennessee from Oc-
tober 7, 1822 to October 4, 1823. On
May 4, 1825, he introduced the visiting
Marquis de Lafayette to the Masonic
brethren in Nashville.

References
I. Bassett, John Spencer. Lifc of Andrew Jackson,
ISlcw York: Harper and Row, 1984.

2 Case, James Royal. The Case Collection of Biogra-
phies of Masonic Notables, Fulton, Missouri: Mis-
souri Lodge of Research and Ovid Ball Press,
Inc ., 1984 .

3. Eisen, Jonathan. Unknown Texas, New York:
Collier Banks, 1988.

4. Fehrenbach, T.R. Lone Star, New York: Crown
Publishers, 1983.

5. Fritz, Jean. Make Way For Sam Houston, New
York: G.P. Putnam's Sons 1986.

6. Fuermann, George Melvin. Reluctant Empire,
Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1957.

7. Gerson, Noel B. Old Hickory, Garden City, N.Y.:
Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1964.

8. Gerson, Noel B. Sam Houston, Garden City
N.Y.: Doubleday&Co., Inc., 1968.

9. James Marquis. The Raoen, Houston, Texas:
Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1929.

10. Remini, Robert V. The Life of Andrew Jackson,
N.Y.: Harper & Row, 1988.

11. Schlesinger, Arthur Meier. Age of Jackson, Bos-
ton: Scribners, 1945.

12. Stone, Irving. The President's Lady, New York:
Doubleday & Co., 1951.

13. Tolbert, Frank X. Informal History of Texas, New
York: Harper and Bros ., 1961 .

14. Wassam, Homer E. The Avenging Angel of Nash-
uille, New York: Dorrance, 1968.

15. Wellman, Paul 1. Magnificent Destiny, Garden
City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1962.

Philalethes Feb. 1992
