Civil War Articles by Julian WilliamsMajor Mark Willcox Hosted A Political "Toasting" And "Roasting"
This article was compiled by Julian Williams.
July 4, 1834, was a big day in Jacksonville, Georgia. Major Mark Willcox was the host and this was probably the last event he presided over with the military rank of major. In November of that year he became a brigadier general. The occasion was also probably one that evoked mixed emotions from Capt. John, his father, who had seen Old Sharp Knife (Andrew Jackson) go from a soldier on the Ocmulgee who refused to come back and help the settlers , to a national hero who had landed feet first in the White House in Washington City. Now, of all things, a celebration was being held to support President Jackson , "the Union man," against the evils of something someone called "nullification." Simply put, maybe too simply, the nullifiers, concentrated in South Carolina, stood by the idea (and ideal) that each state should be able to declare null and void any law of the United States Congress if it happened to be unacceptable to that state. This kind of rebelliousness, quite the familiar friend of Jackson, now horrified him. After all, he was the only one who needed that kind of flexibility. Certainly not that scoundrel, as he would describe him, John C. Calhoun.
Put into that delightful mix of differences and personalities the notion of "states rights" and you have the recipe for real confusion and Trouble (spelled with a big T). Capt. John Willcox was probably going to look on in wonder, at the toasts that were to be presented. The political seas were indeed choppy and the winds were blowing every which a way and it was difficult sometimes, at a time like this, to know whether you were being "toasted" or "roasted."
And because of some strange parallels, Jacksonville, Georgia, became an ideal mirror or reflector of these confusing times. By his own admission, General Jackson let everyone know that his close friend, kinsman, and fellow soldier, General John Coffee, was a major cause of his successes - military, political, and otherwise. Jackson's General John Coffee was a first cousin of General John Coffee of Jacksonville, Georgia.
Forever and a day, the two General Coffees have confused people. If you don't believe it, go to Oak Grove Cemetery in McRae, Georgia, and you will see the grave of General John Coffee, Tennessee. Wrong. It is supposed to be the grave of General John Coffee of Georgia. If the movers did their job back in the 1920's, they moved the old general from his resting place near Jacksonville, Georgia (his plantation), to his present abode. Hopefully, the same bunch didn't identify him because that is an error. Another question remains, however. If they moved him, why didn't they move his wife? She must have been right there beside him down there in the Ocmulgee swamp! And naturally, the Willcoxes were to become a part of all this family, too, because General Mark married General John Coffee's daughter (the one from Jacksonville). We could go on with the parallels of these two great men, the John Coffees, but for right now let's return to the 4th of July celebration at Jacksonville, Georgia.
The following was printed in Milledgeville's Union Recorder: "Agreeably to previous arrangement, a large number of respectable citizens of Telfair County, convened, at Jacksonville, for the purpose of celebrating the day. They met at the house of James A. Rodgers, Esq., who prepared an excellent dinner and neatly set table; at which Major Mark Willcox presided as President, and William Hatton, Esq., as Vice President. After the cloths were removed, the following toasts were read."
Before we give those toasts, which also reflect the personalities of the individuals giving them, let us again look at a toast President Jackson gave at the Jefferson Day Dinner in 1830. After the nullifiers had given their toasts, the determined and wiry Jackson rose and proposed his toast: "Our Union: It must be preserved."
John C. Calhoun, Jackson's enemy and arch nullifier, then gave one to counter it: "The Union, Next to our liberty, the most dear. May we always remember that it can only be preserved by respecting the rights of the states and distributing equally the benefits and burdens of the Union."
Andrew Jackson picked at the bone shards coming to the surface of his arm. As his pocketknife flicked the pieces to the table he looked at John Coffee. He and Coffee well remembered the trouble and duel with the Benton boys and Andrew's arm had been shattered by a Benton bullet. They would have killed him but John Coffee's 6'3" frame of 230 pounds stepped in and subdued the opponents. After missing Thomas with a bullet, he swung at him with the butt of his pistol and kicked him down a flight of stairs. Those fellows played rough. Now, Senator Thomas Hart Benton was a friend and supporter of President Jackson. Jackson even tried to give him the bullet as a souvenir for old times' sake.
But the enmity with Calhoun stung worse than Benton's bullet and the bone pieces, which kept, over the years, coming to the surface of his skin. Other things were coming to the surface, too. He found out that Calhoun had tried to undermine his military career and get the administration to bring charges against him. He also didn't appreciate Mrs. Calhoun's snubbing the wife of a cabinet member because of alleged improprieties concerning her conjugal fidelity. It reminded him too much of what "they" had done to his poor, dear Rachel - accusing her of like indiscretions. He thought, in fact, that this was what literally broke her heart and killed her. At her grave he forgave his enemies but not the "vile wretches" who had destroyed dear Rachel. He was a man on the warpath of vengeance and he was a "Union man."
The dear folks at Jacksonville might have known some of these points of the personality of Andrew Jackson but it is unlikely they knew all - because really no one really did. And, if they did, they weren't telling it. Some things, thought John Coffee, were better left alone.
As Major Mark Willcox opened the celebration, he thought of the grizzled old general, who, like himself, had lost a love. He could share some of his feelings. He also felt for his own father, Capt. John Willcox, who had been deserted in time of need by the same old general - Jackson. He thought of Jackson's General John Coffee, a powerful man now past, and he thought of his father-in-law, General John Coffee, Congressman, who was nearer to death's door than anyone could imagine.
Mark looked at his friends at the celebration and raised his glass for the first general toasts. They were written down and thus, very predictable. Not so with the impromptu toasts of the individuals. Those would be interesting. And we will look at those next week.
Credits:
Ann Carswell for letters of and notes on Gen. Mark Willcox;
Willcox Family History by Martha Albertson;
Pioneer Days Along the Ocmulgee by Fussell Chalker;
History of Telfair County (1807-1987);
Telfair Newspaper Clippings (1810-1892) by Tad Evans;
Hawkinsville Dispatch articles furnished by Chris Trowell;
info furnished by Gertrude Wilcox Williams and Diane Williams Rogers and others;
Jackson by Max Byrd;
various other sources.
