Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. I.djvu/321

 ANDREW JACKSON 265 At Richmond, while Burr s trial was going on, Jackson made a speech attacking Jefferson. He thus made himself obnoxious to Madison, then secretary of state, and afterward, in 1808, he de clared his preference for Monroe over Madison as candidate for the presidency. He was known as unfriendly to Madison s administration, but this did not prevent him from offering his services, with those of 2,500 men, as soon as war was declared against Great Britain in 1812. Since 1801 he had been commander-in-chief of the Tennessee militia, but there had been no occasion for him to take the field. Late in 1812, after the disasters in the north west, it was feared that the British might make an attempt upon New Orleans, and Jackson was ordered down to Natchez, at the head of 2,000 men. He went in high spirits, promising to plant the American eagle upon the ramparts of Mobile, Pensacola, and St. Augustine, if so directed. On February 6, as it had become evident that the British were not meditating a southward expedi tion, the new secretary of war, Armstrong, sent word to Jackson to disband his troops. This stupid order reached the general at Natchez toward the end of March and inflamed his wrath. He took upon himself the responsibility of marching his men home in a body, an act in which the govern ment afterward acquiesced and reimbursed Jackson for the expense involved. During this march Jack-