"Monumental Inscriptions!" coffin broadside (1828)

Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS !

THESE Inscriptions, compiled from authentic sources, but principally from OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, communicated by the Department of War to Congress, on the [illegible] of January, 1828, are, in this form, submitted to the serious consideration of the AMERICAN PEOPLE, under the firm conviction, that the facts embodied in them, ought to, and will, produce a cool and deliberate examination of the qualifications, from Nature and Education, of General ANDREW JACKSON, for the high Civ[illegible]l Station to which he aspires, and to attain which he electioneers with a boldness and pertinacity, unexampled in this Republic. If he shall be found guilty of having ILLEGALLY AND WANTONLY SHED THE BLOOD OF HIS COUNTRYMEN AND FELLOW SOLDIERS, ENTRUST NOT THE LIBERTY AND HAPPINESS OF THIS MOST FREE AND MOST HAPPY COUNTRY TO HIS KEEPING.

[Six coffin-shaped tablets, each topped with a skull and crossbones.]

[Tablet 1]
THESE MARBLE WALLS
Enclose the remains of
EDWARD LINDSEY,
He was one of the Six Militia men,
Who, with others, yielding to the general opinion,
That the legal period of their service had expired,
Returned to their Homes.
Jealous of his Reputation,
He voluntarily returned to Camp, on hearing that doubts
Were entertained as to the propriety of his departure.
For this he was
WITH FIVE OTHER AMERICANS,
Shot to Death
After the usual forms of a Military trial.
BY THE ORDERS OF
GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON,
This cruel deed was executed
On the 21st February, 1815.
Humanity, weeping over deeds [illegible]
[illegible] fame of one whom M[illegible]y [illegible]
Would otherwise have been dear to our country,
Has prompted its citizens
To erect this Tablet,
ON THE FOURTH OF JULY,
1828.

[Tablet 2]
WHATEVER WAS MORTAL
OF
HENRY LEWIS,
Reposes within these bounds.
In the Creek War he gallantly met the Savage f[illegible]
and conquered.
[...] And by the orders of
GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON,
SHOT TO DEATH.
[illegible: remainder of tablet, and the lines headed THIS MONUMENT beneath it]

[Tablet 3]
HERE LIE
THE MORTAL REMAINS
OF
David Morrow,
A BRAVE
And conscientious soldier in the Militia of the
[illegible] War
His term of service had expired,
[illegible]d he returned to his home justified by the officers of every grade
Fearing that his legal tour of duty had possibly not expired,
He voluntarily returned to Camp,
EXPRESSED GREAT CONTRITION FOR HIS ERRORS,
If any had been committed,
And thereupon received from his General
A WRITTEN PARDON.
He was nevertheless Arrested, Tried, and
SHOT TO DEATH,
BY THE ORDERS OF
GEN. ANDREW JACKSON,
On the 21st February,
1815.
Oh ! reader whoever you are,
Let not the splendour of Military renown,
Blot out from your indignant recollection
this bloody deed,
DONE BY A HERO.
The Mites of Widows and Orphans,
Have contributed to raise this Slab,
to the memory of a brave man,
On the 4th July, 1828.

[Tablet 4]
HERE LIES
JACOB WEBB,
Of Poor and Humble Parentage,
And without Education ; yet he fostered the
Virtues of Patriotism and Bravery.
[...] SHOT TO DEATH
BY THE ORDERS OF
General Andrew Jackson,
On the 21st February, 1815.
[illegible: remainder of tablet]

[Tablet 5]
SACRED
TO THE MEMORY OF
JOHN HARRIS.
He was a
Preacher of the Gospel of Christ to the Heathen
in the Wilderness.
[...] FOR THESE ACTS HE WAS
Arrested, Tried, and by the Orders of
GEN. ANDREW JACKSON,
[illegible: SHOT TO DEATH]
On the 21st of February, 1815,
[illegible: remainder of tablet]

[Tablet 6]
THIS
MARBLE CELL
CONTAINS THE MOULDERING REMAINS
OF THE GALLANT
DAVID HUNT,
He was the Son of a Soldier of the Revolution.
[...] Shot to Death
AT FOUR DAYS NOTICE,
BY O[illegible]
GEN. ANDR[illegible] JACKSON,
On the 21st February, 1815.
[illegible: remainder of tablet]

MOURNFUL TRAGEDY; [illegible: six columns of verse beneath the tablets]

PARTIAL transcription. Tablets 1 and 3 are given in full; tablets 2, 4, 5 and 6 are given only where legible (opening and closing lines); the remainder of each is marked [illegible] and was not transcribed. Text on the tablets is blurred in the LOC film-copy scan; passages that could not be read with confidence are marked [illegible] and the six columns of verse under the tablets are not transcribed. Words damaged by a hole or stain are marked [illegible] even where context suggests a reading.