U.S.D. 1812

During the War of 1812, the Natchez Trace served as an important route for moving troops to defend the Gulf Coast region and for volunteers marching to help establish American independence. Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry under the leadership of Andrew Jackson marched down the Natchez Trace to Natchez in January 1813, and Jackson returned with his soldiers in April 1813. Soldier detachments under Jackson's command again marched on the Natchez Trace in 1814, and after the victory at the Battle of New Orleans, most of the Americans who fought there returned on the Trace. Volunteers marched hundreds of miles, often in severe weather with little food and inadequate equipment, and Natchez Trace inns served as hospitals. Soldiers who did not survive the marches were buried in unmarked graves along the Trace. Near this point on Jackson's return, he proclaimed the significance of the victory won through the soldiers' sacrifices: "Our rights will henceforth be respected."

Tennessee · United States