1812: The Rivers of War Read online

  Still, The Ridge had for at least a decade been the principal voice among the Cherokee, advocating an end to the ancient Blood Law that kept the Cherokees—like most Indian nations—continually embroiled in clan feuds.

  John’s own musings were interrupted by new movement at the entrance to the general’s tent. Two more American officers were emerging.

  The Ridge was already studying them. One of them, rather.

  The man on the left, John Coffee, wasn’t the object of his scrutiny—he was already well known to the Cherokee. It was the young officer who accompanied Coffee whom The Ridge found interesting.

  Physically, at least, he was certainly impressive. Very tall, broad-shouldered, and with a muscular physique. But The Ridge could outwrestle almost any man he’d ever met, so that was of no interest to him. Instead, he focused on the young officer’s face.

  That face had possibilities, he decided. The blue eyes looked to be intelligent, and the mouth seemed to be one that smiled easily. Better still, one that could tell jokes.

  “Is that the one?”

  John Ross nodded.

  So.

  The adopted son of Oolooteka, “he who puts the drum away”—or John Jolly, as he was often called. John Jolly was a fairly minor chief among the Cherokee, but his older brother Tahlonteskee wielded great influence. Mostly a bad influence, The Ridge thought, since Tahlonteskee was the most prominent advocate of moving the tribe to the West. Indeed, Tahlonteskee had already done so, leading a thousand people in his own clan across the great river into the region the Americans called Arkansas.

  At best, The Ridge thought the decision had been premature. But Tahlonteskee wasn’t the only one who was advocating that course of action. His younger brother John Jolly did so as well, although he hadn’t yet made the move himself. Their position was especially influential among the purebloods.

  So.

  “I think we will talk to him,” The Ridge announced.

  John Ross started to rise. The Ridge placed a hand on his forearm and drew him gently back down. “Not now. After the battle.”

  Ross shot him a questioning glance. The Ridge allowed himself another little smile. “Whatever else is different about Americans, one thing is not. They prize courage as much as we do. So. After the battle. He will be a great deal older then than he is now, once that day is over, and everyone will know a great deal more about him.”

  Finally, Sam couldn’t keep the question from bursting out.

  “He was faking it?”

  As they walked away from Jackson’s tent, General Coffee cast the young ensign a sidelong stare.

  “I have known Andy Jackson for ten years, both as a friend and a business partner. I married his wife’s niece, and I fought a duel with Dickinson’s friend McNairy two months before Andy killed Dickinson. I know him as well as anyone does. Andy Jackson doesn’t fake anything.

  “It’s just . . .” Coffee looked away, as if gathering his thoughts. “It’s a little hard to explain. Let’s just say that the general is a lot smarter than most people think he is.”

  Something in Sam’s face must have made it clear that he wasn’t satisfied with the explanation. Coffee issued a little chuckle.

  “All right, then let me put it this way. With Andy Jackson, you just never know. He does, in fact, have a temper that can shake buildings. And he can be as cold-blooded and ruthless as anyone you’ll ever meet. You heard about the time a company of militiamen tried to march back to Tennessee—it happened last November—because their term of enlistment was up? Andy rode out on his horse, planted himself square in front of them, and leveled his rifle at them. Said he’d shoot the first man who took another step.”

  Sam nodded. By now, the story was famous—notorious, more like—all over the frontier. He’d even heard that it was stirring up a ruckus in Washington, D.C.

  “And there’s the time Hall told Jackson his brigade was planning to desert—this happened at Fort Deposit, a month later. The story goes that Jackson had two cannons trained on them. Then mounted his horse and swore that he’d have them fired on, despite the fact that he and his horse were right there in the line of fire. You heard that one, too, I’d wager.”

  Sam nodded.

  “Well, both stories are absolutely true. In every detail. I was an eyewitness to the first one myself. And I can tell you there wasn’t a single one of those militiamen who doubted for a minute that Andy would pull the trigger. They don’t call him ‘Old Hickory’ for nothing.”

  The two men walked on in silence for a moment, negotiating their way around a group of soldiers who were squatting at a campfire. After they were past, they found themselves picking their way a little more slowly, now that the sun had set. Coffee spoke again.

  “You just never know, that’s the point. And that’s the way Andy likes it. Did they tell you when you were a kid that bullies are always cowards?”

  Sam laughed softly. “Yeah, but I didn’t believe it, even then.”

  “Smart lad. It’s pure horseshit—and Andy Jackson is the living proof of it. He’s a ferocious bully, and he’s a sneaky, conniving bastard who won’t hesitate for a second to trade on that reputation. But he doesn’t have a cowardly bone in his body. Even his fingernails have guts.”

  Coffee stopped then and turned to face Sam straight on. The general was as big as Houston, so their eyes were on a level. There was still enough light shed by the sundown to enable Sam to make out his features. Coffee’s round face was surmounted by a mass of black hair and centered on a prominent nose. He had very dark eyes. Despite the natural solemnity of the face, Sam thought he detected a trace of a smile playing across the general’s lips.

  “And I’ll tell you what else is true, young man. The British probably will beat Napoleon. And if they do, they’ll send their crack units here—Wellington’s veterans—to crush the only republic left on the face of the earth.”

  Sam thought that was a bit of an exaggeration. The Swiss were a republic, and they were likely to survive the fall of Napoleon. However . . .

  He wasn’t inclined to argue the point, since he understood what Coffee was saying. The Swiss had been around for centuries, and they weren’t any sort of threat to the aristocracies that ruled Europe. The United States, on the other hand, really stuck in their craw.

  “If they can get away with it,” Coffee continued, “don’t think for a moment that the British wouldn’t love to throw our little revolution here into the waste heap. If they can land and seize control of the gulf, along with the mouth of the Mississippi, they’ll have us by the throat.”

  He stopped talking for a moment, and cocked his head questioningly.

  Sam nodded in agreement, and firmly. He’d already come to the same conclusions.

  “Okay, then.” Coffee turned and resumed walking. “So here’s what else is true. Just be damn glad that conniving, way-smarter-than-he-looks, bullying son-of-a-bitch Andy Jackson is in command. We’ll need him, before this is over.”

  CHAPTER 3

  MARCH 27, 1814

  The Battle of the Horseshoe Bend

  The next time Sam Houston encountered Andrew Jackson, the general was hollering again, but this time Sam couldn’t make out the words.

  First, because Jackson wasn’t the only one hollering. So were a thousand Red Stick warriors hemmed in behind their barricade on a horseshoe bend in the Tallapoosa, with about two and a half thousand white soldiers and militiamen facing them.

  Secondly, because the hostile Creeks trapped behind their own fortifications were beating war drums. Lots of war drums, from the sound they were making.

  And, thirdly, because up close, even two cannons make an incredible racket.

  It was late morning when Sam and his superior officer, Major Lemuel Montgomery, came up the rise where the general had set up his field headquarters. Topping the rise, Sam saw the two cannons Jackson had hauled with him across the wilderness positioned atop a small hill overlooking the fortifications the Red Sticks had er
ected. Sam had been in the army long enough now to recognize the cannons as a six-pounder and a three-pounder.

  Field guns. No more, and the three-pounder was something of a lightweight, at that. Nevertheless, Sam had been hearing the racket they made ever since the Thirty-ninth Infantry had arrived at the battlefield and had taken up their position. The Thirty-ninth was at one end of a field that sloped down toward the other end, which was closed off by the Creek fortifications. Now that he was close enough, he could see that the guns hadn’t done any damage worth talking about to the enemy’s fieldworks.

  He wasn’t really surprised, though, getting his first good look at those fortifications. The Red Sticks had had months to prepare for this attack, and obviously they hadn’t wasted the time. The barricade they’d put up across the neck of the peninsula was impressive. Very, very impressive.

  Moments later Montgomery and Houston were just a few feet away from Jackson. Seeing them, the general waved his hand in the direction of the fortifications. The nearest part of the wall stood less than a hundred yards from the position Jackson had taken on the hill. The farthest part of it, Sam estimated, was another three hundred yards distant.

  “Have you ever seen anything like it, Lemuel?” Jackson demanded. His tone was half angry; the other half contained grudging respect. “Tarnation, who would have thought those savages would come up with something this well made?”

  Jackson’s blue eyes flitted to Sam, and a sarcastic little smile came to his lips. “Begging the ensign’s pardon.”

  Sam decided to ignore the remark. Truth be told, he wasn’t any too fond of the Red Sticks himself. He didn’t consider them savages, as such, the way most white people did. But they’d certainly behaved savagely since they’d organized themselves in response to the religious preaching of Tecumseh’s brother, the prophet Tenskwatawa. That had been true even before the massacre at Fort Mims.

  Sam frowned as he studied the fortifications. The breastwork that the Red Sticks had erected across the neck of the peninsula consisted of heavy timber—solid logs, most of it—laid in a wall ranging anywhere from five to eight feet tall. The solidity of the structure made it effectively impervious to the small cannons Jackson had with him. The double row of firing ports and the zigzag design of it gave the defenders the ability to bring enfilade fire on anyone advancing across the open field that stretched in front.

  True, as was almost invariably the case in Indian wars, the Creek warriors were poorly supplied with guns. They were probably just as poorly supplied with ammunition. But, with those fortifications, even the bows with which most of the Red Sticks would be armed could be devastating.

  Houston could see Major Montgomery’s face tightening, the way a man’s will when he’s arriving at a very unpleasant conclusion.

  “We’ll have to try a frontal assault, then, General.”

  Jackson nodded. “I’m afraid so. I’d hoped the cannons . . .” He waved that thought away impatiently. “I’ll need to rely on you and your regulars, Lemuel. Pass the word to Colonel Williams to get ready.”

  “Yes, sir.” Montgomery winced slightly, as the six-pounder went off again, just a few feet away. “How soon?”

  “I’m not sure, yet.” Jackson took off his hat and ran long, bony fingers through his hair. Because his left arm was still in a sling, he had to use the same right hand that was holding the hat. The result was to dishevel his stiff, sandy-gray hair all the more.

  Then he gestured with the hat toward the Tallapoosa. The river wasn’t far off, but it couldn’t be seen through the heavily forested area. This late in March, this far south, most of the trees already had foliage on them.

  “I sent Coffee and his cavalry and all of the Cherokees to ford the Tallapoosa two miles away, then circle around to the other side of the river. Mainly, I just wanted to make sure the Red Sticks were trapped. I intend to crush them here, once and for all, and I don’t want any of them escaping. But . . .”

  He clamped the hat back on his head. “John’s an energetic officer. He may be able to distract their attention with a diversion of some kind. So let’s wait another hour and a half. In the meantime, I’ll keep peppering them with cannon fire. Even if it doesn’t look to be doing any good, that should keep their attention fixed on us, instead of the riverbank.”

  Montgomery pulled out a watch. “That’d be half-past noon, General. I’ll tell the colonel.”

  Jackson nodded. Montgomery squared his shoulders. “I’ll lead the assault myself.”

  The general nodded again. Then, abruptly, he stuck out his hand. “Take care, Lemuel.” There was quite a bit of warmth in his tone. Houston had heard that Jackson and the major had been personal friends since before the war started.

  To his surprise, after Jackson finished shaking hands with Montgomery, the general thrust his hand at Sam. “And you, as well, Ensign Houston. I will rely upon you to carry forward if . . . anything untoward happens to Major Montgomery.”

  Jackson’s grip was firm. Sam hoped the same was true of his own. “I will, sir. You can count on it.”

  He even managed not to wince when another cannon went off. Fortunately, it was only the three-pounder.

  Slowly, The Ridge moved a branch, just enough to afford him a good view of the opposite bank of the Tallapoosa. Behind him and spread out on both sides, hidden in the forest, hundreds of Cherokee warriors crouched. General Coffee and his cavalry were somewhere farther back, having agreed to follow The Ridge’s advice and stay well out of sight of whatever Red Sticks might be watching the river.

  In theory, Jackson’s Cherokee allies were led by their chief, Gideon Morgan, to whom the Americans had given the rank of colonel. But that was mainly due to Morgan’s fluency with the English language. In practice, as the campaign against the Red Sticks had unfolded, it was The Ridge who’d come to be the central war leader, and the one whom General Coffee relied upon. The Ridge had started the campaign with the lowly American rank of lieutenant, but now he was a major.

  Observing nothing on the other side except a line of beached Creek canoes, The Ridge examined the river itself for a moment. The muddy waters of the Tallapoosa were moving fairly quickly, but he didn’t think it would be impossible to swim across. Not even difficult, really, since the distance wasn’t that great.

  He went back to studying the opposite bank, with the patience of a hunter.

  Nothing. There might well be some warriors in the vicinity, but it was becoming obvious the Red Sticks hadn’t thought to place a guard on the river.

  He wasn’t surprised. He could hear the sounds of fighting off in the distance, and had been hearing them for quite some time. By now, the Red Stick warriors would be concentrated at or near the fortifications that stretched across the neck of the peninsula, hundreds of yards away from the river’s curve. The terrain directly opposite The Ridge’s location was flat, once the riverbank itself was surmounted, and it wasn’t as heavily forested as most of the region.

  Somewhere in the distance he thought he could see the high ground that was reported to form the center of the peninsula, and he was pretty sure the Creek village itself would be located at the foot of it. That area would be guarded, but the river itself wasn’t being watched. Not closely, at least.

  Moving slowly again, The Ridge let the branch slide back into position, no more abruptly than if it had been moved by the wind. Then, he turned his head and considered the Cherokees who were clustered nearby.

  He dismissed John Ross without even a thought. The youngster seemed stalwart enough, but had no real experience in this sort of fighting. The Americans had made him an adjutant, and had given him the rank of a second lieutenant. But, again, that had been mostly due to his familiarity with English. For something like this, The Ridge wanted a more experienced man. Besides, it would take a good swimmer, and The Ridge had no idea how well Ross could handle himself in the water.

  His eyes fell on The Whale. The man’s name wasn’t simply due to his size. The Ridge made a subtle summ
oning gesture with his head, and The Whale eased his way forward.

  “Right across the river,” The Ridge murmured. He slid aside a little so The Whale could take his own peek.

  After carefully parting the branches and examining the canoes on the other side, The Whale grunted softly. “I’ll take two men with me. Won’t take long, so have everyone ready.”

  He turned away and softly called out two names. As the men rose from their crouch, The Whale led them a short distance upstream. They’d start their crossing far enough above the beached canoes that the current wouldn’t sweep them right on past.

  Then The Ridge glanced at John Ross again. If the youngster harbored any resentment because he hadn’t been chosen for the task, there was no sign of it on his expression or in his posture. The Ridge was pleased, but not surprised. He’d already come to the conclusion that Ross was exceptionally levelheaded, and as such not subject to public bravado that infected most men his age.

  There remained, of course, the question of Ross’s courage. The American ensign wasn’t the only young man in the group for whom this would be the first real test in battle. But there, too, The Ridge expected the young Cherokee to acquit himself well enough.

  Well enough was all The Ridge asked for this day. The Cherokees already had enough warriors who had proven their fighting abilities. The Ridge himself was one of them. What they lacked were leaders who could negotiate their way through the tangled thicket of politics that confronted their nation in a world being swept over by a tide of white settlers.

  He had high hopes for John Ross. Because of his background, Ross had a far greater familiarity with the subtleties of American customs than did most Cherokees. Certainly far more than The Ridge himself. The Ridge had never visited the home of the Ross family, near Lookout Mountain, but he had heard tales about it. The two-story log house was said to be full of books and maps and newspapers—even newspapers from England. John had been brought up in Cherokee country, in a Cherokee family, but as a boy he’d been tutored by a white man; and, as a youth, he had attended a white man’s academy in Tennessee.