Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) was a soldier, politician, and seventh President of the United States. William Berkeley Lewis (1784-1866) of Tennessee was Andrew Jackson's friend and political advisor. The Andrew Jackson and William B. Lewis correspondence, 1806-1864, is an artificial collection consisting of their letters, 1814-1845; correspondence of the two men with other prominent individuals; and a few miscellaneous documents, chiefly military returns signed by or relating to Jackson, 1813-1814. The bulk of the Jackson-Lewis letters are written by Jackson to Lewis, spanning Jackson's military and political careers and retirement at The Hermitage. Lewis's letters to Jackson are Lewis's own copies.
Biographical/historical: Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) was a soldier, politician, and seventh President of the United States. He gained national fame during the War of 1812 as a major general in the Tennessee militia and later in the U.S. Army. Jackson was a U.S. representative and senator from Tennessee, military governor of Florida in 1821, and U. S. president from 1829 to 1837. He married Rachel Donelson in 1794, and resided at The Hermitage, a plantation near Nashville, Tennessee.
William Berkeley Lewis (1784-1866) of Tennessee was Andrew Jackson's friend and political advisor. He served as quartermaster under Jackson during the Creek War and War of 1812, and was a member of the "Kitchen Cabinet” in the Jackson administration, holding considerable influence until Jackson's second term. In 1830 Jackson appointed Lewis as Second Auditor of the Treasury, a position he lost in the Polk administration.
Content: The Andrew Jackson and William B. Lewis correspondence, 1806-1864, is an artificial collection consisting of their letters, 1814-1845; correspondence of the two men with other prominent individuals; and a few miscellaneous documents, chiefly military returns signed by or relating to Jackson, 1813-1814. The bulk of the Jackson-Lewis letters are written by Jackson to Lewis, spanning Jackson's military and political careers and retirement at The Hermitage. Lewis's letters to Jackson are Lewis's own copies.
The letters of both men concern American politics and government, with occasional sharing of personal and family news. Lewis's later correspondence pertains to the loss of his Treasury Department job, and historical details concerning Jackson’s life and career.
Funding: Digitization was made possible by a lead gift from The Polonsky Foundation.
