Why Andrew Jackson Hated the British
Andrew Jackson was the last President to have been a veteran of the American Revolution. He saw service in the war while barely a teenager. During the war, Jackson, at age thirteen, joined a local militia as a courier. Two of his brothers also saw service in the war. His eldest brother, Hugh, died from heat exhaustion during the Battle of Stono Ferry, on June 20, 1779.
Young Andrew and his brother Robert were captured by the British and held as prisoners. Despite their age, the British treated the young prisoners cruelly. The boys nearly starved to death in captivity. Andrew was ordered to clean the boots of a British officer. Brash even as a 13 year old, Andrew refused. The officer slashed at the youth with a sword, leaving Jackson with scars on his left hand and head. Many a Jackson biographer has speculated, probably correctly, that this spawned his intense hatred of the British.
While imprisoned, the brothers contracted smallpox. Jackson's mother Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson successfully pleaded with the British for the release of her two sons. On the journey home the boys were very ill. Robert died a few days after their mother secured their release, on April 27, 1781. After his mother was assured that Andrew would recover, she volunteered to nurse prisoners of war on board two ships in Charleston harbor, where there had been an outbreak of cholera. She died from the disease in November 1781, and was buried in an unmarked grave, leaving Jackson an orphan at age 14.
Jackson's entire immediate family–aside from his father, who had died earlier–died from hardships during the war. Jackson blamed the British and he never forgot.
Young Andrew and his brother Robert were captured by the British and held as prisoners. Despite their age, the British treated the young prisoners cruelly. The boys nearly starved to death in captivity. Andrew was ordered to clean the boots of a British officer. Brash even as a 13 year old, Andrew refused. The officer slashed at the youth with a sword, leaving Jackson with scars on his left hand and head. Many a Jackson biographer has speculated, probably correctly, that this spawned his intense hatred of the British.
While imprisoned, the brothers contracted smallpox. Jackson's mother Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson successfully pleaded with the British for the release of her two sons. On the journey home the boys were very ill. Robert died a few days after their mother secured their release, on April 27, 1781. After his mother was assured that Andrew would recover, she volunteered to nurse prisoners of war on board two ships in Charleston harbor, where there had been an outbreak of cholera. She died from the disease in November 1781, and was buried in an unmarked grave, leaving Jackson an orphan at age 14.
Jackson's entire immediate family–aside from his father, who had died earlier–died from hardships during the war. Jackson blamed the British and he never forgot.