General Andrew Jackson; a hero of the War of 1812.
There never perhaps was a warrior of greater resolution than Jackson. He was a man...said to burn every blade of grass before an enemy, or as the Prince of Orange even more heroically expressed it, to die in the last ditch sooner than submit. He never trifled in great emergencies never shrank from assuming the responsibility required by circumstances, but while others wasted precious moments in hesitation, acted, and with a terrible energy and promptitude which appalled opposition. His determined will has passed into a proverb.
Whatever he conceived to be right, that he fearlessly did, and would have attempted it, even if superhuman powers opposed him. He had the nerve of Cromwell, without his craft; the headlong impetuosity of Murat, without his weakness; the desperate resolution and confidence in himself, which carried Napoleon from victory to victory.
But nevertheless, if honesty patriotism and unflinching adherence to conviction constitute the hero, then was Jackson one in the highest and fullest sense of that term.
Narrative from The military heroes of the war of 1812: with a narrative of the war.
