John Adair - Controversy With Andrew Jackson

Controversy With Andrew Jackson

Jackson's official report blamed the Kentuckians' retreat for the collapse of the west bank defenses, and many Kentuckians felt it downplayed the importance of Adair's militiamen on the east bank in preserving the American line and securing the victory. Davis's men insisted the report was based on Jackson's misunderstanding of the facts and asked that Adair request a court of inquiry, which convened in February 1815 with Major General Carroll of Tennessee presiding. The court's report found that "he retreat of the Kentucky militia, which, considering their position, the deficiency of their arms, and other causes, may be excusable," and that the formation of the troops on the west bank was "exceptional", noting that 500 Louisiana troops supported by three artillery pieces and protected by a strong breastwork were charged with defending a line that stretched only 200 yards (180 m) while Davis's 170 Kentuckians, poorly armed and protected only by a small ditch, were expected to defend a line over 300 yards (270 m) long. On February 10, 1816, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a resolution thanking Adair for his service at the Battle of New Orleans and for his defense of the soldiers accused by Jackson.

Jackson approved the court's findings, but they were not the full refutation of Jackson's report that many Kentuckians – including Adair – had wanted. In a letter that was quickly made public, Adair – formerly one of Jackson's close friends – insisted that Jackson withdraw or modify his official report, but Jackson refused. This ended the matter until June 1815 when H.P. Helm, secretary to John Thomas, forwarded to a Frankfort newspaper remarks from "the general" that had been annexed to the official report. The remarks stated that the general was now convinced that the initial reports of cowardice by Davis's men "had been misrepresented" and that their retreat had been "not only excusable, but absolutely justifiable". The remarks – believed to be from Jackson in response to Adair's letter – were subsequently reprinted across Kentucky. "The general" referenced was General John Thomas, however; Jackson had never seen them. Helm claimed he sent a correction to the newspaper that published the remarks, but it was not printed.

Jackson did not discover the remarks until they were published again in January 1817 in response to a Boston newspaper's criticism of Kentucky militiamen. He then wrote to the Kentucky Reporter, denouncing the remarks as a forgery. The Reporter investigated and published an explanation of how Thomas's remarks had been attributed to Jackson. They did not reprint Jackson's letter because they felt his claim that the remarks had been intentionally forged – a charge which was now found to be false – was too inflammatory. The editors promised that if their retraction did not satisfy Jackson, they would fully publish any of his additional remarks on the subject. In Jackson's April 1817 response, he implied that Adair had intentionally misrepresented the remarks, and reasserted that they had been forged, possibly by Adair himself. Adair believed Jackson's references to the remarks as a "forged dish, dressed in the true Spanish style" was a thinly veiled reference to Adair's alleged participation in the Burr conspiracy. As ostensible proof that he was not predisposed against Kentuckians, Jackson also implied that he had not reported additional dishonorable behavior by Kentucky militiamen during the battle. This letter thrust the dispute into the national spotlight and prompted Adair to resume correspondence with him both to defend Davis's men and refute Jackson's charges of conspiracy. In his May 1817 response, he reasserted his defense of the Kentucky militiamen at New Orleans and dismissed many of Jackson's allegations as unimportant and untrue. He flatly denied the existence of a conspiracy, and chastised Jackson for making charges without supporting evidence. Responding to Jackson's allusion to Spain, Adair recalled that Jackson had also been implicated with Burr.

Unable to provide tangible evidence of Adair's alleged misdeeds, Jackson provided indirect evidence that a conspiracy was possible. His response, delayed by his treaty negotiations with the Cherokee, was printed September 3, 1817, and used complicated calculations based on spacing and distance, to argue that Adair had only half the number of men he claimed to have commanded at the Battle of New Orleans. Further, he claimed that Adair had ordered Davis to New Orleans to obtain weapons knowing that the arms had already been taken by other brigades under Adair's command. Either Adair had given a foolish order, or he did not have as many men in his main force as he claimed. He closed by promising that this would be his last statement on the matter. Adair's October 29, 1817, response was delayed, he said, because he was awaiting documents from New Orleans that never came. In it, he quoted from a letter to Jackson's aide-de-camp – cited by Jackson himself in previous correspondence – showing that Jackson had been made aware of both the existence and the authorship of Thomas's remarks in 1815 but declined the opportunity to refute them. He also defended his account of the number of troops under his command, which he had consistently reported as being near 1,000, and asked why Jackson had not challenged it until now. Finally, he claimed that not only did he retrieve the weapons from New Orleans under Jackson's orders, but he rode Jackson's horse to New Orleans to effect the transaction. Tradition holds that this letter prompted either Adair or Jackson to challenge the other to a duel, but friends of both men averted the conflict after assembling to watch; no written evidence of the event exists. Tensions between the two eventually eased, and Adair came to comfort Jackson after his wife Rachel's death in 1828. Adair also campaigned for Jackson during his presidential campaigns in 1824, 1828, and 1832. Jackson's opponents compiled copies of his letters into campaign pamphlets to use against him in Kentucky during these elections.