Day 3 - Happy Birthday Cheryl!

Andrew Jackson Slept here!

And still does.

The Hermitage is the home of Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States. As a young man he came to Nashville, then a frontier town, to practice law. He was eventually appointed Major General of the Tennessee Militia and used them to fight Indians throughout the South and eventually to command the defense of New Orleans where he led the defeat of the British in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. The picture on the right is the tomb he built for his wife, who died just days before he became president in 1829, It sits next to the formal garden at his plantation mansion in Nashville. He was buried there also when he died in 1845.

This is the back of the mansion and faced the 1120 acre plantation which raised corn and cotton, housing up to 150 slaves at one time. Today the original land is all together again under a non-profit trust. Most of the farm land is leased to local farms who continue to raise crops on it. The income from the leases help support the museum and grounds.
The front of the mansion is reached by a winding driveway through picturesque trees and open areas. The house was built in the Greek Revival style which was popular at the time. The White House was built in this style.
These are reconstructed slave quarters built on the site where the original house slaves lived. The 80 or so field slaves were housed further down the road toward the fields. You can still see the original foundations on 5 or 6 cabins there. General Jackson was not noted for his kindness to or sympathy for his slaves. In the museum is a handbill he posted offering a $50 reward to anyone who captured one of his runaway slaves. He offered and extra $10 if that person also whipped the runaway.

While the furniture is from the post slavery period the design is an original. At least 2 slave families would have lived in this area. A sleeping loft is reached by a ladder just out of site to the left. Each cabin has an open hearth fireplace for cooking and heat.

Happy Birthday Cheryl

To celebrate Cheryl's birthday this evening we are taking a 3 hour dinner tour on the riverboat The General Jackson. I'll report on that during the next blog.