The Life of Andrew Jackson

by Robert V. Remini

Half-unconscious from the loss of blood, Jackson was lifted and carried to the Nashville Inn, his shoulder shattered by the slug and his arm pierced by a ball which lay embedded against the upper bone of his left arm. He soaked through two mattresses before the doctors could stanch the flow of blood. Every physician in Nashville worked over the wounded General, and all but one recommended the amputation of the shattered arm. “I’ll keep my arm,” ordered Old Hickory, and with that, he slipped into unconsciousness. The doctors did not dare to contradict him and they made no effort to remove the shrapnel which remained in his arm for nearly twenty years. Both wounds were dressed with poultices of elm and other wood cuttings, as prescribed by the Indians. Jackson was utterly prostrate from the great loss of blood. It was three weeks before he could leave his bed.