William Trousdale: A Legend in the Making - Part 1

William Trousdale, The Early Years (1790 to 1811)

????????????????William Trousdale was born September 23, 1790, in Orange County, North Carolina. His parents, Revolutionary War veteran James Trousdale and Eliza Dobbins Trousdale moved their family of nine children to Sumner County, Tennessee in 1796 and settled on James Trousdale’s land grant of 640 acres, awarded to him by the state of North Carolina for his military service. In 1802, when William was eleven years old, the Tennessee General Assembly appointed commissioners to purchase forty-two and a half acres of land from James in order to layout the county seat town of Gallatin and before William’s twelfth birthday, construction of the town began.

???????????????Information is limited regarding William Trousdale’s childhood in Tennessee. In the booklet the Life of William Trousdale: Soldier, Statesman, Diplomat, historian Walter T. Durham speculates as to how William may have felt during his formative years: “certainly, he must have been excited by the creation and development of a town on his father’s land . . . [and] joined his elders as they cut the logs and burned the brick to erect the first buildings of the town” (1). Research does reveal, however, that William and his family called several influential military leaders neighbors in those early days, including General Andrew Jackson, Commandant of the Tennessee militia; General James Winchester, Commandant of the Mero District Militia; and United States Senator Daniel Smith, and undoubtedly “from them . . . [William] learned something of the expansive character of frontiersmen and, like them, he became a Westerner and a hawk” (Durham 2). ?Thus, the stage was set for the beginning of William’s brilliant military career.

A Legend in the Making (1812 – 1836)

???????????????In 1812, the second war with Great Britain loomed on the horizon, and William Trousdale eagerly answered the call. As a member of Captain William Edward’s company of volunteers in the Fourth Brigade, Tennessee Militia, he and his fellow volunteers responded to General Jackson’s call of March 7, 1812 (Durham 2). Although it would be three months before war was declared with Great Britain, Trousdale would soon participate in active service. As one of 1,300 Tennessee Volunteers ordered by General Jackson to travel southward in response to the massacre by the Indians at Fort Mims, he fought in the Battle of Tallushatchee on November 3, 1813, and just a few days later, the Battle of Taledega between the Tennessee Militia and the Red Stick Creek Indians. Subsequently, he was elected as a lieutenant.

???????????????In the summer of 1814, Trousdale volunteered as a private soldier under the command of General Jackson and General Coffee and saw action again in Pensacola in Spanish Florida. After securing a victory in Pensacola, the army was ordered to march to New Orleans and arrived there around the 21st or 22nd of December 1814 and continued to march through New Orleans on December 23rd to meet the British army. Trousdale was part of the company that initially attacked the British, took prisoners and participated in the main battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. When the Treaty of Ghent officially ended the war with England, Trousdale and his fellow Tennessee Volunteers were released from duty, allowing Trousdale to return home to Gallatin; he was twenty-five years old.

???????????????With no foreseeable military endeavors at hand, Trousdale focused on his future in the private sector. He began studying with teacher John Hall and after reading law for several years, was admitted to the bar in 1820. As his law practice grew, so did his influence and in time, “he became an important public figure in middle Tennessee” and “before the end of the decade, he would be recognized throughout the state as one of the foremost leaders of the Democratic party” (Durham 4), thus setting the stage for his forthcoming political career.

Trousdale’s reputation was also of benefit to his personal life. On January 30, 1827, he married Mary Ann Bugg, whose family was originally from Mecklenburg County, Virginia and now resided in Sumner County. By all accounts, the two complimented each other. Trousdale was tall, distinguished and poised for a successful career in politics. Local historian and author Judith A. Morgan describes Mary Ann Bugg as “a worthy figure in her own right . . . educated with beautiful penmanship and expression” she had “connections with several prominent families in both Sumner and Davidson Counties” (12). Their first home in Gallatin sat on the south side of the public square and several years later, they moved to the house now known as Trousdale Place at 183 West Main Street. They had seven children; five reached adulthood: Louisa, Valeria, Frances, Charles, and Julius. Morgan’s research for her book The Lost World of Langley Hall reveals William and Mary worked diligently to provide the best for their family and in turn, they were loved and respected by their children.

William Trousdale’s impressive military career, thriving law practice, and stable homelife, however, did little to help his initial ingress into the political arena. From 1827 – 1845, he ran for Congress five times and lost five times. In 1831, he had some success and was elected to the board of alderman of the city of Gallatin, a position he served in until 1835. Then, he was elected to serve in the State Senate. However, approximately two months later, his political career was put on hold when he once again answered the call for volunteers and prepared to fight in the second Seminole War.?