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Show 120 LIFE OF GEN. JACKSO~. CHAP. under his control, he was compelled, by the late events I v · in his camp,~ to relinquish ; but although these were ._...,.._.highly discoutaging, they were far from inducing him 1.814. to despond. He was strongly persuaded of the ne-cessity of proceeding; and determined, that as. soon as it were possible, he. would prosecute the campaign, with the feeble force he had at his command, deferring. the period for more active opetations, until the expected reinforcements, collecting in Tennessee, could be brought into. the ,field.* • 'I'hcse· troops were calculated but for a single adventure, and no more. Colonel Carroll was unablr- to procure volunteers for six.-1nonths, or during the campaign, as had been required by the order under which he acted. He had considered it so essential to have troops of some description engaged, that, rather than not obtain them at all, he had accepted them for sixty days, and taken them as mounted men, instead of infantry, which were not to be procured. This latter circumstance requiring a large quantity of supplies, occasionedi:hem to be kept back much longer than would have been necessary, had they been troops of a different description. As there was no law, either of the state or general government, for a period so limited, which seemed too short to promise any very bene· ficial effects, the gent9al was in doubt, whether or not to re· ceive them; but, believing he might make a partial excursion, and thereby produce a diversion, favourable to· the Georgiatroops, who, rei ying on his co·operation, might be perhaps greatly endangered ; and' considering that their rejection might tend to the injury of the campaign, he finally concluded· to accept them. Previously to doing so, he stated his objec· tions, and the difficulties he felt; and endeavoured to prevail on them to enlarge their term of service: to this they would· not agree ; when, rather than lose them entirely, he consented to receive them. LIFE OF GEN. JACKSON. .On the second of January, colonel Can-ol! and Mr. CHAP. Blackburn, having proceed~d from Huntsville, mTived IV. at head qum·ters, to receive instructions, as to the man-~ . 1. 1 I 1814. ner m w uc 1 t 1e volunteers should be organized ; and to learn the time when they would be required to be brought up. Having repmted their strength to be eight hundred and fifty, they were directed to have Additionthem for~ed, as had been desired, into two regiments, :;,;~~~P• under officers of their own choice ; and an order was put into their hands, for general Coffee, who was then at Huntsville, requiring him to march them to Fort _8trother, by the lOth instant. That officer whose feeling> had been sufficiently han·owed by tl1e late con-duct and defection of his brignde, lem·ning that those troops were unwilling he should have tl1e command of th~m, had expressed a wish to general Jackson, that it m1ght not be assigned him ; in consequence of which and their own request, tl1e latter had determined afte; their arrival at his camp, that there should be ~0 intermediate commander over them, between their colo-nels and himself. With this proposed a~rangement and the nature and extent of tl1e order borne to ge~ ~era! Coffee, colonel Carroll and Mr. Blackburn were ms~·ucted to make the troops acquainted ; and were .particularly requested to use their best endeavours, to remove any erroneous impressions that might have been made upon tlleir minds, by those who had so late- ~y abandoned their duty, and who had laboured to instil Ill others their own prejudices and passions. They we_re charged, too, with the communication of a flat-tenng address from the general, who considered it of the utmost impo.rtance, to guard, by all the means in q_ |