War of 1812, Part 38: Unrest in the South

Ever since the Treaty of Paris in 1783 ended the American Revolution, Americans had wanted to add Spanish Florida to the United States to expand the country and gain easy access to the Gulf. When war was declared on Great Britain in 1812, President James Madison decided to end the controversy and simply seize all of Florida. In January 1813, General Andrew Jackson sent his infantry down the Cumberland River from Nashville on flatboats and dispatched Colonel John Coffee and a troop of cavalry by land to Natchez, the rendezvous point of the army. But the Senate, led by Senator Samuel Smith, refused to authorize the conquest, and Jackson was ordered to dismiss his army. Jackson was disappointed that his chance for martial glory was over, but another opportunity arose a few months later when a band of Creek Indians went on the warpath.