The Missing Chapter in Andrew Jackson's Life
At noon on Wednesday, November 28, as part of the department’s History Is Lunch series, Tony L. Turnbow will discuss his new book Hardened to Hickory: The Missing Chapter in Andrew Jackson’s Life.
The narrative follows Jackson’s young Tennessee Volunteers in their expedition down the Natchez Trace and Mississippi River as Jackson attempted to outwit and overpower General James Wilkinson for control of the Gulf Coast and ultimately the U.S. Army.
Turnbow draws from unpublished documents to portray a more human and complex Andrew Jackson. The book also chronicles how the attempt to save young soldiers transformed Jackson into the "Old Hickory" whom contemporaries would compare to General George Washington. “’Old Hickory’ was the Andrew Jackson who won the presidency and led the United States into the Age of Jackson,” said Turnbow. “And that transformation began in a cold tent on the Natchez Trace when it seemed that Andrew Jackson had been defeated.”
Tony L. Turnbow, a practicing attorney, has studied the history of the Natchez Trace for more than thirty years. A graduate of Vanderbilt and the University of Tennessee College of Law, Turnbow’s articles have appeared in the Journal of Mississippi History, the Tennessee Historical Quarterly , and other publications. Turnbow served on the Tennessee War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission and Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation governance committee. He is the recipient of the Tennessee Society U.S. Daughters of 1812 “Spirit of 1812” award.
The program will take place in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium at the Two Mississippi Museums—the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum—located at 222 North Street, Jackson, MS 39201. There is no charge to attend. Copies of the book will be for sale through the Mississippi Museum Store. For more information call 601-576-6998 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
November 21—Thanksgiving week--no program