Payment for 150 Rifles “for the use of Genl Jacksons army” During Creek War, Native American

From his home in Locustland, William Hall requests payment for 150 stand of arms he has provided and payment of a cotton factory in Cairo, Illinois, for linen it had provided for the use of Major General Andrew Jackson's soldiers.

[ANDREW JACKSON.] William Hall, Autograph Document Signed, to William B. Lewis, February 5, 1814, Locustland, Tennessee. 3 pp., 6.625" x 8". Small tears on folds; loss from opening seal, affecting three words; one other hole affecting one word; general toning.

Complete Transcript
Locustland February 5th 1814
Sir
You will receive by the bearer Charles Morgan Esqr, Quartermaster [Potters?] receipts for one hundred & fifty stand of arms with their accountrements also Genl Jacksons orders to you, to pay me $10 pr each stand of arms. you will be so good as to draw on Government in my favour for the amount, and send the drafts by Mr Morgan to me. you will divide the sum in such size drafts as Mr Morgan shall direct. I am interested in a draft drawn on you, by Quartermaster Rose in favor of [?] Weaver for $80.00 if you feel authorized to pay the draft, you may include it in the drafts for the arms. Sir I have been respectfully called on since my return, by the managers of the Cotton Factory at Cairo, to know the reason they are so long kept out of their money for the 1502 yds of linnins at 40 cts pr yd, which was sent on by them last October, for the use of Genl Jacksons army, at your request through me. I have assigned to them the true cause but they are not satisfied therewith, and very justly states, that negligence in officers, ought not to injure the company and prevent them from getting the money due them for their property agreeably to Contract. Sir you must pay the company their money for the linnins, or otherways I shall have it to do, and it will be extreamly hard that I am to be harassed, in paying money, that I have not had, nor never shall have, one tenth benefit from, but what I did in procuring the linnins, was to serve you & the public. I called on Col Stokeley D. Hays Qtr master Genl for his receipt for the linnins agreeably to your instructions to the director of the factory (on my way from Th Strother) and Hays told me to procure Qr master Roses receipt for the linnins as he received it, and send the receipt on to him, and he would send on his receipt to you, or me, for the linnins without delay. I called on Rose at Huntsville for his receipt for the linnins, which he gave me, and I enclosed it to Col Hays by Majr Donnelson, with dir[ections] to inclose his receipt to me, which [lost text] I have not yet received, but I know it is through his neglect that I have not receiv'd it, but if you will pay the money I will pledge myself that you shall get the receipt.
I am respectfully your / Obs't
W Hall
PS let me know by the bearer what you will do WH

Historical Background
The Creek War began as a civil war among different factions of the Creeks, especially the Red Sticks, a war party that opposed the Creek Confederacy Council's policies of peaceful coexistence with the United States. In July 1813, the first clash between the Red Sticks and a group of territorial militiamen occurred in southern Alabama, which came to be known as the Battle of Burnt Corn. On August 30, 1813, Red Sticks attacked Fort Mims, north of Mobile, and killed 400 to 500 people, including many white settlers. Responding to this attack became a rallying cause for the American militia.

Tennessee Governor Willie Blount called out a force of 2,500 men from west Tennessee under Colonel Andrew Jackson and 2,500 more from East Tennessee under Major General John Alexander Cocke. The Georgia and Mississippi militia likewise responded, as did friendly Lower Creek under Major William McIntosh (who aided the Georgia militia). Andrew Jackson's advance in late 1813 was hampered by supply shortages and short enlistments.

William Hall provided weapons for the Tennessee militia under the command of Major General Jackson. In this letter, he requests payments from Jackson's quartermaster general and close friend William B. Lewis. He also mentions brigade quartermaster Neil B. Rose (1780-1835) and quartermaster Stokely D. Hays (1788-1831), Andrew Jackson's nephew.

New recruits arrived in January 1814, and Jackson led them to two indecisive battles against the Creeks before returning to Fort Strother. In February, the 39th U.S. infantry arrived, which provided Jackson with a disciplined core for his forces. In the spring of 1814, Jackson advanced with new Tennessee militia and established a new outpost at Fort Williams. On March 27, 1814, he led his troops to attack the Red Sticks at Horseshoe Bend. His decisive victory there effectively ended the war.

William Hall (1775-1856) was born in North Carolina and moved with his family to Virginia and then to "Locustland" in north-central Tennessee. In the early 1790s, he served as sheriff of Sumner County and became a major in the militia in 1796. He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1797 to 1805. At the beginning of the War of 1812, he joined the Tennessee Volunteer Infantry with the rank of colonel and became a brigadier general in 1813. In 1821, he was elected to the Tennessee Senate and served as its speaker in 1827. When Sam Houston resigned as governor in April 1829 because of a personal scandal, Hall became governor on April 16. He did not seek election and served until October 1, when William Carroll took office as governor. Hall was a political ally of Andrew Jackson and served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1831 to 1833.

William B. Lewis (1784-1866) was born in Virginia and moved in 1809 to Nashville, Tennessee, where he became a longtime friend and associate of Andrew Jackson. He served as a quartermaster under Jackson during the War of 1812. He later assisted Jackson in his campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1823 and his presidential campaigns. He served as a member of Jackson's "Kitchen Cabinet," and Jackson appointed him as the second auditor of the treasury, a position Lewis retained into the late 1840s.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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