It’s a matter of dispute exactly where Andrew Jackson was born. In 1767, the settlement of Waxhaw straddled the border of North and South Carolina, but he counted himself a native of South Carolina, one born to Scottish-Irish immigrants. By the time he came into the world, his mother Elizabeth was a widow. His father, Andrew Sr., was a poor man who died unexpectedly. Elizabeth, Andrew, and his two elder brothers lived with relatives, and at one point she was obliged to act as housekeeper for her sister’s family.
Elizabeth brought with her from Ireland an intense hatred of the British, and while the American Revolution took several years to affect Waxhaw, the Jacksons were firmly in the Patriot camp. Elizabeth enlisted her younger sons, Robert and Andrew Jr., to help her tend to wounded revolutionaries, while her oldest son Hugo signed up to fight — only to die of heat exhaustion. After his death, Elizabeth urged her remaining boys to take an interest in the local militia. By the time he was 13, Andrew and his brother were volunteer fighters, and they became involved in a skirmish with Tories in 1781. The Jacksons escaped the fight, but when they attempted to fetch food the next day, they were taken prisoner.
The dragoon commander who took custody of the Jacksons ordered Andrew to clean his boots. Andrew responded by asserting his rights as a prisoner of war. Furious, the officer drew his saber and struck the boy across the hand and head. The scar remained with Andrew for the rest of his life.
