THE SARCOPHAGUS OFFER
In March, 1845, Commodore Elliott offered to General Jackson a sarcophagus which he had obtained at Palestine. In a letter of appreciation, but ringing with American spirit, General Jackson declined the offer.
Copies of two letters touching this incident were presented to the Association by Hon. John Wesley Gaines and are as follows:
Washington City, March 18, 1845.
My Dear General—Last night I made something of a speech at the National Institute, and have offered for their acceptance the sarcophagus which I obtained at Palestine, brought home in the Constitution, and believed to contain the remains of the Roman Emperor Alexander Severus, with the suggestion that it might be tendered you for your final resting place. I pray you, General, to live on in the fear of the Lord; dying the death of a Roman soldier, an emperor’s coffin awaits you.
I am, truly, your friend.
Jesse D. Elliott.
To Gen. Andrew Jackson.
Hermitage, Tenn., March 27, 1845.
Dear Sir—Your letter of the 18th inst. tonight with a copy of the Proceedings of the National Institute, furnished me by their corresponding secretary, on the presentation by you of the sarcophagus for acceptance on condition it shall be preserved and in honor of my memory, have been received and are now before me. Although laboring under great debility and affliction, from a severe attack from which I may not recover, I raise my pen and endeavor to reply. The steadiness of my nerves may perhaps lead you to conclude my prostration of strength is not so great as here expressed. Strange as it may appear, my nerves are as steady as they were forty years gone by, whilst from debility and affliction I am gasping for breath. I have read the whole proceedings of the presentation by you of the sarcophagus, and the resolutions passed by the board of directors so honorable to my fame, with sensations and feelings more easily to be conjectured than by me expressed. The whole proceedings call for my most grateful thanks which are hereby extended to you, and through you to the president and directors of the National Institute. BUT WITH THE WARMEST SENSATIONS THAT CAN INSPIRE A GRATEFUL HEART, I MUST DECLINE ACCEPTING THE HONOR INTENDED TO BE BESTOWED. I CANNOT CONSENT THAT MY MORTAL BODY SHALL BE LAID IN A REPOSITORY PREPARED FOR AN EMPEROR OR KING.
MY REPUBLICAN FEELINGS AND PRINCIPLES FORBID IT; THE SIMPLICITY OF OUR SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT FORBIDS IT. EVERY MONUMENT ERECTED TO PERPETUATE THE MEMORY OF OUR HEROES AND STATESMEN OUGHT TO BEAR EVIDENCE OF THE ECONOMY AND SIMPLICITY OF OUR REPUBLICAN INSTITUTIONS AND OF THE PLAINNESS OF OUR REPUBLICAN CITIZENS, WHO ARE THE SOVEREIGNS OF OUR GLORIOUS UNION AND WHOSE VIRTUE IT IS TO PERPETUATE IT. TRUE VIRTUE CANNOT EXIST WHERE POMP AND PARADE ARE THE GOVERNING PASSIONS. IT CAN ONLY DWELL WITH THE PEOPLE—THE GREAT LABORING AND PRODUCING CLASSES—THAT FORM THE BONE AND SINEW OF OUR CONFEDERACY.
For these reasons I cannot accept the honor you and the president and directors of the National Institute intended to bestow. I CANNOT PERMIT MY REMAINS TO BE THE FIRST IN THESE UNITED STATES TO BE DEPOSITED IN A SARCOPHAGUS MADE FOR AN EMPEROR OR A KING. I again repeat, please accept for yourself, and convey to the president and directors of the National Institute, my most profound respects for the honor you and they intended to bestow. I have prepared an humble depository for my mortal body besides that wherein lies my beloved wife, where, without any pomp or parade, I have requested, when my God calls me to sleep with my fathers, to be laid; for both of us there to remain until the last trumpet sounds to call the dead to judgment, when we, I hope, shall rise together, clothed with that heavenly body promised to all who believe in our glorious Redeemer who died for us that we might live, and by whose atonement I hope for a blessed immortality.
I am, with great respect, your friend and fellow citizen,
Andrew Jackson.
To Commodore J. D. Elliott, United States Navy.
On January 8th, the anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, an annual pilgrimage is made to the tomb of Andrew Jackson by the Association, school groups, patriotic and civil official organizations. Representatives place wreaths on the tomb. The Andrew Jackson State Park, commemorating his birthplace, is located 10 miles north of Lancaster, S. C.
Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, largely a memorial to General Jackson, is located on the site of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, on the Tallapoosa River, east central Alabama.