In this letter to Sam Houston, written during Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign, James Terrill defends Jackson's conduct during the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814). He reports that "The Genl found it would be necessary to charge the breast works the Indians defended them for a long time ... nothing took place like a cold blooded slaughter, but in the battle and every other battle neither Genl Jackson or his troops showed any disposition to any blood ... Genl Jackson at all times was particularly kind and friendly to prisoners as was also his officers and troops ... I have seen him put sick soldiers on his saddle horse and walk through the mud himself."