Remarkable Resolve
In August of 1781, a young Andrew Jackson was captured by the British near his hometown on the border of North and South Carolina. He was just 13 years old. It was the middle of the Revolutionary War and King George III commanded his army to fight the Americans with savage toughness. The redcoats captured young Andrew and his brother and humiliated them. They ordered Andrew, at knifepoint, to clean their boots. But he had a remarkable resolve for such a young man, and he refused. When he refused to clean their boots, they struck him with a slash to the face.
Scars that would remain for life.
His brother refused the remedial tasks and was savagely beaten and slashed with a sword also. They soon contracted small pox and almost starved to death from the treatment of the British solders. When they were finally released, they were near death. They had to walk 40 miles back to their home. But Andrew showed remarkable resolve. And he endured the walk, even helping his older brother. But no help could bring back his brother’s health. And soon after reaching home Andrew’s brother had died.
Andrew’s mom had nursed young Andrew back to health. Seeing the effects of the war on her family, and the building patriotism she felt, she knew she had to do something to help the war effort. It was just too important. She was inspired to volunteer as a nurse for American prisoners of war at the time. But there was an outbreak of Cholera and soon she was dead too.
Andrew Jackson was an orphan by age 14.
So when the war of 1812 came along, Andrew knew he had to fight. Again Andrew Jackson showed remarkable resolve. He was a young general at the time of his defense of New Orleans. Countless books have been written about his heroics in battle. His shrewd war-time tactics and almost oracle like planning. He was truly a gifted leader that inspired his men into battle against one of the most organed, efficient and brutal armies ever to grace the pages of history: the Royal Navy. And eventually he was successful in battle.
But little is written about how Andrew Jackson was in a perpetual state of poor health. His injuries from getting shot twice with bullets lodged in his body and leaking lead into his system gave him all kinds of aliments. Then from his time in the swamplands he had contracted malaria, typhoid, typhus and dysentery. All bringing him to terrible health and making him rail thin for most of his life. Doctors at the time did their best, but this was before a basic understanding of sanitation. They actually would “bleed” Andrew thinking that a loss of blood would clear out the system. He even took mercury pills which at the time were thought to help. Both things likely made his health far worse.
Yet Andrew Jackson always maintained his remarkable resolve. He was a man of conviction. Sometimes giving orders from lying down on his horse as he was too weak to sit up. Or barely being able to eat with his men.
So I think of Andrew Jackson often when I am not feeling well. And think about how foolish I am with my petty ailments in light of someone who most likely was in poor health his whole life. Not just from time to time. And yet he still managed to get amazing things done on behalf of his country and it’s citizens. According to presidential historian F. Schwartz Foster, when Jackson was President in the White House his teeth all crumbled causing him terrible headaches – and the ones that didn’t fall out were removed by his barber as there were no dentists at the time.
So maybe the next time you are not feeling up to the task, remember that a remarkable state of mind and resolve is far more powerful than the strongest malady. The Creator Mindset sees a world that can be, not a world that is. And potential and optimism is an everlasting stream able to provide nourishment to whomever drinks it’s waters. But it’s just that: You have to make that choice to choose strength over whatever troubles you at the time. It might be poor health. It might be issues at work. It might be grand or superficial problems that seem heavy. So the next time a particular challenge comes along, try and think of it with a sense of resolve. A sense of optimism and a sense of potential and strength. Because Andrew Jackson was able to show remarkable resolve, I wonder what things we can learn by doing the same. It turns out that a little resolve goes a long way.
