To Thomas Jefferson from Andrew Jackson, James Winchester, Edward Douglass, and William Hall, ca. December 1804
From Andrew Jackson, James Winchester,
Edward Douglass, and William Hall
[ca. December 1804]
Sir.
Inclosed is a remonstrance signed by a number of the most respectable Citizens and officers in this District, on the Subject of Colo. Thos. Butlers late, & present arrest—
We hope the Shortness of time, added to the emergency of the Case, will in a measure account to you for the number of Subscribers, which are indeed inconsiderable, Compared to the Aggregate number Contained in the District and State; but we Solemnly pledge ourselves to You, that the Sentiments expressed in the remonstrance, are in perfect unison with those of the Community at large.
As we accord with the ideas and wishes of our State on this Subject and Occasion, and as we are impressed with a belief, that you, are not truly informed of the proceedings, now in being, against Colo. Thomas Butler (as all avenues are closed, by a late general order, and no information can reach the Secretary at War but through the organ of the General, who is the arresting officer) it is most humbly hoped that you will pardon us for the trouble we have given, in a case & under circumstances which we conceive aught not to escapte your observation & attention.
We have the honor to tender to you our highest Consideration of Respect
Andrew Jackson
J Winchester
Edwd. Douglass
Wm. Hall
RC (DLC); undated; addressed: “Thomas Jefferson; esquire President of the U. States Washington Cty”; endorsed by TJ as received 23 Jan. 1805 and so recorded in SJL. Enclosure: a copy of an undated “remonstrance and petition of Sundry citizens and officers of the militia in the State of Tennessee” to Congress regarding the arrest of Colonel Thomas Butler, signed by Jackson and 73 others, pleading that a meritorious officer continues to be charged with “imaginary crimes” for which he is allowed neither due process nor the respect accorded his rank; the signers question the “uncontrolled power” of James Wilkinson and hope that Congress will enact laws “as will prevent abuses of power from indignity and insult those who devote their lives to the service of their country” and relieve Butler “from the persecution & despotism of Genl. James Wilkinson” (Tr in same).
James Winchester, Edward Douglass, and William Hall all resided in Sumner County, Tennessee, and were members of the militia. Winchester (1752-1826) was a prosperous tobacco farmer and investor from Maryland and later a founder of the city of Memphis. Virginian Edward Douglass, Jr. (1745-1825), was a former Revolutionary War officer who served as a member of the Tennessee constitutional convention of 1796 and in the state legislature. The political career of William Hall (1775-1856) included 16 years in the Tennessee General Assembly and a term in the U.S. House of Representatives (Robert M. McBride, Dan M. Robison, and others, eds., Biographical Directory of the Tennessee General Assembly, 7 vols. [Nashville, 1975- ], 1:211, 321-2; ).
late, & present arrest: Thomas Butler was court-martialed in 1803, in part for refusing to crop his queued hair in compliance with a regulation set forth by Wilkinson. He was arrested again in November 1804 after he continued to resist the order (, 2:42-3; Vol. 41:155-7; Vol. 42:594-7).
not truly informed: Jackson expressed similar concerns in the draft of a letter to TJ written early in August 1804 but apparently never sent. In that draft, Jackson questioned TJ’s sources of information about Butler’s case. Jackson showed the letter to Butler, but no recipient’s copy has been found or is recorded in SJL (, 2:33-6; see also Vol. 41:395).