Colonel Preston proposes to establish for his own father the merit of planning the expedition which led to Ferguson's defeat. I have examined the subject in my own mind in every point of view, and cannot, in the remotest manner, discover wherein General Preston could have had any agency in this exploit. I lived nearly one hundred and twenty miles from him, in a different State, and had no kind of communication with him on the subject, and from every recollection, I am convinced that the statement I gave you is indisputably true. I recollect, however, that Major Cloyd, with three hundred men from the county of Montgomery, commanded by Colonel Preston, fought an action with the Tories at the shallow ford of the Yadkin River, nearly one hundred miles north of King's Mountain, about two weeks after the defeat of Ferguson. It has always been a mystery to me as to Cloyd's destination, or that of the enemy whom he encountered. I have only understood that they met accidentally in the road, and that the enemy was composed of the Tories in the neighborhood, and of the Bryants, of Kentucky, some of whom were killed in the fight.

If Ferguson was Cloyd's object, he was too weak to effect anything, and besides, Lord Cornwallis, with the British army, lay directly in the route between them. My convictions are so clear on this point I have no fear that General Preston can render my statement doubtful. He proposes, too, to invalidate the testimony of Moses Shelby. I will, for your own satisfaction, give you a short sketch of his history. Moses was in his nineteenth year when he left his father's house to join the expedition against Ferguson, and had never before, to my knowledge, been more than forty miles from home. It is well known that our march was too rapid for a youth of that age to trespass in any manner, the army having marched two or three hundred miles, and fought the battle in twelve days, three of which we were detained on the road from different causes. Moses was severely wounded at the Mountain, and the bone of one thigh being fractured, he could be carried but a short distance from the battle-ground, where he lay on his back nearly three months, and was only able to ride out a few days before General Morgan came up into the district of NinetySix. He joined Morgan but a day or two before the battle of the Cowpens, on the 17th of January, 1781. Here he was wounded more severely than at the Mountain, and lay, until March or April, under the hands of a surgeon. When Colonel Clarke, of Georgia, came on with his followers to commence the siege of Augusta, his wounds were still sore and open, but at the warm solicitations of Clarke, Moses joined the expedition, and was appointed captain of horse. It is well known that the

siege lasted until May or June following, in which Moses was actively engaged, and Clarke asserted to many that he made several charges on the enemy, who sallied during the siege, which would have done honor to Count Pulaski. Moses returned home shortly after the siege, and never crossed the mountains again during the war. The next year, 1782, he, with other adventurers, went to the new settlements, then forming where Nashville now stands, where he continued off and on until he married, two or three years afterwards. As the settlements progressed down the Cumberland, he was always among the foremost of the pioneers. He finally settled in what is now called Livingston County, Kentucky, where, at the unanimous solicitation of the inhabitants, he was appointed colonel of the new county, about the year 1793. He had the command for a number of years. And after the acquisition of Louisiana, he removed to that territory, and now resides on the west side of the Mississippi, two miles below New Madrid, covered with the scars of thirteen deep wounds, received in defense of his country, from which he is too proud to receive a pension, always disdaining to apply for one. In his youth he was of a warm and ardent disposition, always ready to risk his life for a friend, and profuse of his property (of which he had a considerable inheritance), even to a fault. It would exceed the bounds of a letter to give you a statement of the many hair-breadth escapes and imminent dangers through which he passed. Soon after his marriage he became impressed with religious sentiments, joined the Methodist Church, liberated his slaves, and, so far as I know and believe, has always supported a good character in that county.

It is possible, while at the South, in 1780-81, from his ardent disposition and the prevailing excitement of the times, that he may in some cases have acted imprudently. The war between the Whigs and Tories was carried on with the utmost rancor and malice, each endeavoring to do the greatest injury to the other.

Colonel Willoughby, whose affidavit has been published, swears to no point. He lived three hundred miles from the scene of action, and his information may have been very erro

neous.

If, however, General Preston proves apparently anything more, he shall be answered.

I have made this hasty sketch for your own satisfaction.
I remain, dear sir, very respectfully, your friend,

JOHN J. CRITTENDEN.

ISAAC SHELBY.

(Henry Clay to J. J. Crittenden.)

ASHLAND, September 13, 1823.

DEAR CRITTENDEN,-I received your letter by Mr. Davis. I participate most cordially with you in the just solicitude which the dispute between Messrs. Breckenridge and Wickliffe awakens. When it was first mentioned to me, considering the peculiar circumstances and the character of one of the parties, I feared that all private interference would be unavailing, and that the best course would be an appeal to the civil authority, with its chances of delay,-cooling of the passions, and possible ultimate accommodation. Supposing the intercession of the civil power, would not Mr. W. be relieved from the necessity of having the interview, and Mr. B. be stripped of any ground to carry into effect the alternative, which it is said he menaced? There is, however, no incompatibility between the two courses, which may be tried in succession, or simultaneously, according to circumstances. I have therefore prepared and, on my own part, signed a letter addressed to the parties, and which may be signed by both, or either of you, and the governor. If the relations of one of them to your brother should induce you to withhold your signature, that of the governor may be affixed without yours. I would advise a copy of this letter to be delivered to each of the seconds; and considering that it is uncertain where they may meet, I would suggest that one of the judges of the Court of Appeals or Circuit Courts be applied to for a warrant to bind the parties. The public rumor of their intention to meet will form a sufficient ground for his action. One of the motives which took me to Woodford was to see you. The melancholy event which occurred there of private affliction to you (on which I offer you my sincere condolence) deprived me of that pleasure. My health is not re-established, but is improving, and I begin to feel that I see land, or rather, that I may not get under it.

I am faithfully yours,

HON. J. J. CRITTENDEN.

HENRY CLAY.

CHAPTER V.

1824-1829.

Letters-Jackson and Adams-Letters-Appointed, in 1827, United States Attorney for Kentucky-Removed by General Jackson—Nominated by President Adams to the Supreme Court-Letter of Mr. C. to a Friend, written from College of William and Mary.

(George M. Bibb to J. J. Crittenden.)

WASHINGTON, March 8, 1824.

DEAR Ny motive but a reasonable one, I know, but

EAR JOHN,-That there are men who will ascribe my

My

that any should suppose that I have come to Washington for the purpose of electioneering against Mr. Clay is an extravagance that I did not anticipate would have been charged against me. great motive in coming here was to get a hearing and decision in my suit for the land at Falmouth; in this I have succeeded. The opinion is delivered, and is in my favor. I endeavored to lay a contribution on other suitors in the court to help pay expenses of the trip, but the people of Kentucky are not drilled to paying fees to the lawyers. They pay in promises. As to Mr. Clay, he has broken the cords of friendship which bound me to him; they can never again be tied. I have no desire to interfere with your friendship for him, nor to trouble you with complaints of his conduct to me. Beware of such sunshine friends! As to electioneering upon the subject of President, I am as far removed from it as Washington is from Kentucky. I have heard a great deal; said little. I am not a member of Congress, and have, therefore, no right to go to caucus or vote in caucus, nor have I a vote when the question shall come before the House of Representatives. A listener, who hears all parties, is perhaps better able to form his opinions than those who are heated, busy, bustling managers. The grand Harrisburg Convention has decided, with but a single dissenting voice, for Jackson. Roberts was the only man who did not, upon the first vote, declare for Jackson. This has given a new impetus to him. The anticipation that Pennsylvania would declare for him gave him great advantages. The undivided voice of the Convention at Harrisburg has surprised the friends of all the other candidates,— save those of Calhoun,-they looked for it after the meeting in

the county of Philadelphia, for the purpose of choosing a delegate to the Convention at Harrisburg. It seems that the people of North Carolina are taking up Jackson, as Pennsylvania did, against their politicians and of their own mere will. So it is in New York. The majority of the Senate are disposed to keep the appointment of electors in the legislature,-that is their calculation for Crawford; but a large majority of the House of Representatives of that State are decidedly opposed to Crawford. Adams is the most potent there. With the people, Jackson is next to Adams, and should the election go to the people Jackson may prevail in that State. The indications in Maryland are for Jackson. Tennessee and Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Missouri, for Jackson. All New England for Adams. As for Indiana and Ohio, it is difficult now to say for whom their vote will be. The most knowing say that the substantial controversy is now between Adams and Jackson, and by a union of the slaveholding States with Pennsylvania Jackson may be elected. Unless Clay gets the votes of New York he cannot be one of the three from whom the House of Representatives is to choose. What revolutions in the electoral votes may take place before the time of choosing the Electoral College, should the friends of Crawford find out what everybody else seems to have found out (that he cannot be elected either by the people or the House of Representatives), cannot be foreseen. Jackson's ticket is every day acquiring new friends. Since the Convention at Harrisburg his pretensions are placed before the people by means of newspapers that were devoted before to other candidates. So much for politics. The great case, between Jersey and New York as it is called, upon the constitutionality of the law of New York, giving to Fulton the exclusive right to navigate the waters of New York by steamboats, is decided against New York. In this cause, I heard from Wirt the greatest display that I have ever heard at the bar since the days of Patrick Henry. His legal argument was very strong; his peroration was beautiful and grand. I did not hear Webster, nor Oakley, nor Emmett in this case, but all are said to have exhibited great talents. I have heard Webster, Sergeant, and White, of Tennessee. Wirt, Webster, White, and Ogden are the ablest lawyers, and Walter Jones should also be ranked among the first. Emmett I have not heard, but his reputation is high. After all, I have not been convinced that the bar of Kentucky does not contain as much talent and force as any other bar in the Union.

March 17th. I have heard Wirt in another great case, opposed by Clay and Harper. Wirt rises with the occasion and the opposing force. The bill for putting the choice of the electors