Andrew Jackson is often referred to as tough, argumentative, and physical. He reportedly had somewhere between five and a hundred duels! Records are sketchy at best, but it’s very safe to say that Andrew Jackson was a tough man. In fact, Jackson’s troops nicknamed him “Old Hickory” because of how tough he was.

Jackson and Charles Dickinson were rival horse breeders. They were both southern plantation owners, and they both had a long-standing hatred of each other. In 1805, one of Andrew Jackson’s friends became involved in a quarrel over a bet made on a horse race between Captain Joseph Ervin and Jackson. Ervin’s son-in-law, Dickinson, became incensed by something that was said, and the quarrel became more inflamed. Dickinson accused Jackson of reneging on the horse bet. Dickinson also called Rachel Jackson a bigamist, because she had married Jackson before her divorce had been finalized, unknowingly so.

Jackson got involved at this point. Dickinson wrote to Jackson calling him a "coward and an equivocator." Additional insults were hurled, until Dickinson published a statement in the Nashville Review in May 1806. Dickinson called Jackson a “worthless scoundrel. . .a poltroon and a coward.” Jackson responded by challenging Dickinson to a duel, according to the customs of the south. Dickinson was known as one of the best shots in Tennessee, if not the best, and he was given choice of weapons. Predictably, he chose pistols.

On May 30, 1806, Jackson and Dickinson met at Harrison's Mills in Logan, Kentucky. Dickinson fired the first shot, which crushed two of Jackson's ribs and lodged near his heart, perhaps as close as two inches. Witnesses state that Jackson didn’t even flinch. A plume of dust emanated from Jackson’s coat; blood gushed downward and into Jackson's left boot. Jackson attempted to limit the loss of blood by putting his hand over the wound. At this point, Dickinson reportedly said, "My God! Have I missed him?" With that, he took a step back. Overton, Jackson's second, reportedly said, "Back to the mark, sir!" Jackson fired. Dickinson's seconds claimed Jackson's first shot misfired. Standard protocol demanded that the duel was over, but Jackson allegedly re-cocked his gun and fired again, in breach of duel etiquette. This shot resulted in Dickinson’s death. The duel was accepted by many but considered a cold-blooded murder by others.

Interestingly, Dickinson's shot had hit its mark, precisely. Jackson was a thin man. Standing at six feet tall, he weighed no more than 145 pounds. On the day of the duel, Jackson wore a dark blue frock coat and trousers of the same material. The coat was too large for him. Dickison aimed for Jackson's heart but misjudged where it was because of the size of the coat Jackson was wearing.

Seven years later, Jackson was involved in another altercation that resulted in bullet wounds. During a September 1813 gunfight with the Benton brothers in downtown Nashville, Jackson was hit by both a slug and a ball. The slug crushed his left shoulder, and the ball embedded against his left humerus. Jackson bled profusely. He saturated two mattresses after being moved to a room in the Nashville Inn. Every doctor in town tried to stop the flow of blood. All but one recommended the amputation of his left arm. Jackson refused. He said, "I'll keep my arm." This was the last thing he said before falling unconscious. Jackson was a tough man, and he did keep his arm. He also kept both the bullet from the Dickinson duel and the shoulder wound from the gunfight with the Benton brothers until the day he died, thirty-two years later.



