, 1810, an act was
passed in secret session authorizing the President to take military
possession of the disputed coast country in certain contingencies. Under
orders from Washington, General Wilkinson, with a force of six hundred
regulars, marched against Mobile, took possession of the Spanish fort,
Charlotte, and caused the garrison to withdraw to Pensacola.

This precipitate action--the British envoy protesting against such
informal occupation--was justified at home on the plea of strong grounds
of suspicion that England herself might suddenly assert sovereignty over
the same territory under secret treaty with Spain. Amid these rude and
revolutionary proceedings, all within a decade of years, necessarily
there followed a tumult of differing sentiment and contentions among the
Spanish, French, and American people of the section. Fortunately the
French element were of a nativity whose country had been for generations
the inveterate enemy of the English, our common foe. If there were any
who felt resentment before over the enforced change of allegiance from
beloved France to the stranger sovereignty, when the crisis of campaign
and battle came none were more gallant and brave in meeting the invading
enemy.

On the ninth of December the great English flotilla appeared off
Chandeleur Islands, and came to anchor near to Ship Island, the
shallowness of the water not permitting the nearer approach to the main
shore of vessels so large. The British authorities yet believed that the
destination of this fleet was unknown to the Americans ashore; but in
this they were mistaken, as they afterward admitted. The inadequacy of
men and means and measures to properly meet and repel such an
invading force, as mentioned before, was mainly due to the tardy
negligence of the department at Washington. The sleepless vigilance and
untiring energy of General Jackson was in marked contrast to this, not
only within his own military jurisdiction, but in the whole region
around. His trusty spies, pale and dusky, were everywhere, and little
escaped his attention. The situation was now critical in the extreme.
Fortunately, the unbounded confidence all had in their military chief
inspired hope and infused energy among the people. He had never been
defeated in battle. If any one could wrest victory now out of the
inauspicious and chaotic conditions that threatened disaster, they
believed it to be General Jackson.

[Illustration]

Marvelous was t