During the Civil War, several visiting soldiers commented on the condition of The Hermitage, as this 1867 photograph by C.C. Giers of Jackson’s tomb confirmed. Pvt. Benjamin Smith, 51st Illinois Infantry, wrote, “The place must have been a fine one in its palmy days, but now through neglect it’s pretty well run to weeds. - Courtesy Tennessee State Library & Archives.
The tomb of President Andrew and Rachel Jackson as it was in 2010.
Rachel Jackson quietly suffered through Jackson’s bid for the White House, as his enemies attacked the circumstances of their marriage. Although Jackson easily won the presidency, Rachel dreaded the gossiping whispers of Washington’s social circles. Whether this stress contribued to her death on December 22, 1828 is not known, but Jackson believed it did.
Jackson buried his Rachel in her beloved garden, erecting a temporary shelter over her grave until a more suitable monument could be built. In 1831, Jackson commissioned architect David Morrison to design this Greek Revival tomb. For Jackson’s contemporaries, the architecture of ancient Greece symbolized not only political, but moral viture. Consciously or not, Jackson’s selection of this style conveyed his belief in Rachel’s virtue. [For a really interesting story on Rachel's virtue, just google: Rachel Jackson's honor.]
Here Lie The Remains of
Mrs. RACHEL JACKSON
wife of PRESIDENT JACKSON
who died the 22nd Dec 1828 – Aged 61.
Her face was fair, her person pleasing; her temper amiable, and her heart kind; she delighted in relieving the wants of her fellow creatures and cultivated that divine pleasure by the most liberal and unpretending methods; to the poor she was a benefactor; to the rich an example; to the wretched a comforter, to the prosperous an ornament, her piety went hand in hand with her benevolence, and she thanked her creator for being permitted to do good. A being so gentle, and yet so vituous, slander might wound but could not dishonour; Even death, when he tore her from the arms of her husband, could but transport her to the bosom of her God.
At the end of his presidency, Jackson return to The Hermitage, where numerous accounts confirm that he visited Rachel’s tomb daily. When he died on June 8, 1945, he was laid to rest next to Rachel. His tombstone simply reads, “General Andrew Jackson.”‘
