Tennessee Governor Willie Blount-- Part 3:

The War of 1812 took place during Willie Blount's second and third terms as governor.  During the first months of the war, he struggled with a  lack of communication with the U.S. War Department and waited for permission to order his state militia south to New Orleans.

Following the Fort Mimms Massacre, in Alabama, north of Mobile, in 1813, he issued a call to arms and 3,500 Tennesseeans answered it.  All this support earned Tennessee its nickname "Volunteer State."

Blount then raised $300,000 to fund the expedition.  This force was divided into two divisions and ordered south.  This ended with the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

This success made him very popular with the people of Tennessee after the war.

--Brock-Perry

Abel P. Upshur-- Part 1: Leader of the "Great Rebellion" at Princeton and Later U.S. Secretary of State

From Wikipedia.

I mentioned in earlier posts on Andrew Hunter Holmes that one of the leaders of the "Great Rebellion" at Princeton in 1807 was Abel P. Upshur and that he had gone on to be the Secretary of War in the Tyler administration.

(1790-1844)

American lawyer, judge and politician from Virginia.  Served as Secretary of the Navy and secretary of State in the Whig administration of President John Tyler.

He was instrumental in negotiating the secret treaty that led to the 1845 annexation of Texas to the United States and also had a key role in it coming in as a slave state.

--Brock-Perry

Andrew Hunter Holmes and the "Great Rebellion" at Princeton, 1807-- Part 2

In 1816, the legislature of Virginia donated a gold sword in his memory to his oldest male relative.  The sword eventually came into the possession of Governor David Holmes, of Mississippi (but formerly of Virginia) who left it to Andrew Hunter Holmes Boyd ( a nephew), who left it to his son, Andrew Hunter Boyd, now of Cumberland, Maryland and Judge of the Court of Appeals of that state.

Andrew Hunter Holmes was dismissed from Princeton for his role in the "Great Rebellion."

--Brock-Perry

Andrew Hunter Holmes and the "Great Rebellion" at Princeton-- Part 1

From the William and Mary Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. 16, 1908.

The "Great Rebellion" at Princeton took place on March 31, 1807.  On April 1, 1807, one of the expelled students was one Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, who later became Secretary of State of the United States.  Five other "rioters" were from Virginia like him, including Andrew Hunter Holmes.

Andrew Holmes was born in 1789, and attended Princeton and William and Mary.  he was a lawyer in New Orleans when the War of 1812 began and was killed at the 1814 Battle of Mackinac.

--Brock-Perry

Princeton's Nassau Hall

From Wikipedia.

The rebellious students in 1807, took refuge initially in Nassau Hall.  It is the oldest building at Princeton University.  When originally built in 1756, it was the largest building in colonial New Jersey and the largest academic building in all of the American colonies.

The university, then known as the College of New Jersey first held classes for a year in Elizabeth and then nine more at Newark before locating to Princeton.

During the American Revolution it was possessed both by the British and Americans and received considerable damage during the January 3, 1777, Battle of Princeton.

From July to October 1783, Princeton was the capital of the United States and Nassau Hall hosted the American government.  It presently houses the Princeton administration.

--Brock-Perry

"The Great Rebellion" at Princeton in 1807-- Part 4: "Sign of Moral Decay"

From Wikipedia.

Princeton President Samuel Stanhope Smith's administration was characterized by little or no faculty-student rapport or communication, crowded conditions and strict adherence to rules.  These led to a student uprising during the winter semester 31 March-1 April 1807.

Smith denounced the students as a sign of moral decay.

Also, back then Princeton was called the College of New Jersey.

Geez, Even back Then.  --Brock-Perry

"The Great Rebellion" at Princeton in 1807-- Part 3: Aftermath

The students then barricaded themselves into Nassau Hall.  The trustees called on the militia to evict them, but the students beat the soldiers back with stones and broken banisters.  President Smith then shut down the college.

The protesting students then moved to the town and vowed never to return to school  One of the protesters was John C. Breckinridge.  He was the son of U.S. Attorney general John Breckinridge and father of U.S. vice president John C. Breckinridge.

Taking a piece of the American Revolution, they formed a Committee of Correspondence to address their grievances.

Eventually it all calmed down and 55 of the rebels returned, but the main leaders were expelled.

Student Unrest, Even back Then.  --Brock-Perry

"The Great Rebellion" at Princeton in 1807-- Part 2: Renounce the Petition

That day, March 30th, eight students submitted a petition to Princeton President Smith with 160 signatures of other students demanding that he reconsider his suspensions of the three students.

Smith refused to even read the petition.  How dare these students "demand" he change his mind.  He had trustee Richard Stockton, Jr., deliver a sermon to the protesters and student body at the chapel in an attempt to get them to renounce their petition.  Even before he was finished, the students began scraping their shoes noisily on the floor.

Then, one conspirator "jumped up, gave a signal, and charged out of the room with two-thirds of the college's two hundred students behind him.  Everyone of them was immediately suspended."

And, It Wasn't Over Yet.  --Brock-Perry

"The Great Rebellion" at Princeton in 1807-- Part 1: Suspended for Going to Tavern

From the Princeton Alumni Weekly, Vol. 91.  "Princeton Riot of 1807."

I had to find out more about this student rebellion back in 1807, having gone through the anti-Vietnam War protests and Kent State riots as a freshman at Northern Illinois University my freshman year, 1969-1970.

Trouble began between Princeton's leaders and students on March 24, 1807, when the faculty suspended Francis D. Cummins, a senior, for harassing townspeople and visiting a tavern.  (Evidently he got into a fight at the tavern, imagine that.)  Two other suspensions followed and discontent among students grew until March 30, the day before final examinations for the winter term began.

--Brock-Perry

Andrew Hunter Holmes- Part 2: "The Great Rebellion" at Princeton.

From the William and Mary Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. 16, 1908.

Evidently, Andrew Holmes had a part in it as he was disciplined.

"The Great Rebellion" at Princeton took place on March 31, 1807.  During discipline hearings the next month, several were expelled, many of whom were Virginians.  One of them was Abel P. Upshur, who later became U.S. Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of State.

Upshur would later be killed by the cannon explosion of the USS Princeton in 1844.

Five other of the "rioters" were Virginians, including one Andrew Hunter Holmes.

--Brock-Perry