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Show 2j0 LIFE 01<' GEN. JACKSON. C{!y~f an en~my, if not already at hand, was certainly expect~ ed, with whom they would have to contend, and con- 1814. tend severely. Great reliance was had on them by the "Commanding general ; and their good conduct, in the different situations in which they had acted with him, was a proof how much they deserved it. On inspecting their arms, which consisted principally of rilles, two hundred were discovered to be greatly injured by the weather, and unfit for service. The advance of colonel Hinds, from Woodville, with the Mississippi dragoons, was no less prompt and expeditious; an active and brave officer, he was, on this, as on all other occasions, at his post, ready to act as was required. Having received his orders, he hastened forward, and effected, in four days, a march of two hundred and thirty miles. On the 16th, colonel Hynes, aid-de-camp to general Carroll, reached head quarters, with information from the general, that he would be down, as early as possible ; but that the situation of the weather, and high winds, greatly retarded his progress. The steam boat was immediately put in requisition, and ordered up the river, to aid him in reaching his destination, without loss of time. He was advised of the necessity of hastening rapidly forward ; that the lakes were in possession of the enemy, and their arrival daily looked for: " But," continued Jackson, " I am resolved, feeble as my force is, to assail him, on his first landing, and perish, sooner than he shall reach the city." Independent of a large force, descending with general Carroll, his coming was looked to with additional pleasure, from tl1e circumstance of his having with him LIFE OF GEN. JACK,SQN. 27) a boat, laden with arms, which, destined for the de- CHAP fence of the country, he had overtaken on the pas- VIII.· sage. His falling in with them was fortunate; for, had~ their arrival depended on those to whom they had 181~· been incautiously given, they might have come too late, and after all danger had subsided ; as was indeed the case with others, forwarded from Pittsburg which, through the unpardonable conduct of thos; who had been entrusted with their management and transportation, did not reach New Orleans, until after all difficulties had ended. Great inconvenience was ~stained, during tl1e siege, for want of arms, to place m the hands of the militia. Great as it was it would have been i~creased: even to an alarming e~tent, but ~or the accidental crrcumstance of this boat falling mto tl~e hands of the Tennessee division, which im-pelled It on, and thereby produced incalculable advan-tage.* · • On the first intimation that the British intended a d • scent on this section of the United States, general Jackso~l ::d suggested to the secretary of war the scarcity of both ms and. ordnance, and the necessity of having the deficien· cy r.emed~ed, a.s soon as possible. Mr. Monroe had given the earhest attention to this subject, and had onlored an a 1 supply t b b k d mp e to o e em ar e from Pittsburg, sufficiently early Ia h~ve reach~d head. quarters, previously to the enemy's h ndmg. The1r transportation down the western waters ro:d b~en confided . to men, '~ho fe1t not a sufficient conceru th U>m speedy amval, to use the necessary diligence. ''l'he. er the government had given any such orders, or it were a pte>re ce ofd p ennyk-w ise economy, suggested by the quarter mas-ve: s;~e s:il?ot ~ow. The fact~ ~owever, is, that a steam del' ' tl mg Wlth much exped•t.ou, proposed to carry and tver lem at New Orleans, in eighteen days, which would. |