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Letters

Now living in the same compound in Fort Nashborough, Rachel and Andrew soon met and became friends; eventually their friendship grew into one of the greatest
loves in American History.

At the time, Rachel was still married to Lewis Robards. Rachel and her first husband attempted reconciliation several times, the last ending when Robards falsely accused Rachel and Andrew of an affair. The gallant Andrew, anxious to protect Rachel from what he thought was abuse, confronted Robards about his treatment of Rachel. Since his mother's death, Andrew was notorious for his chivalry and need to rescue women in distress. After a particularly threatening confrontation with Robards, Jackson moved out. Robards soon followed, returning to Kentucky without Rachel.

After rumors that Robards was returning to claim her a second time, Rachel decided she could no longer live with her first husband, accused of unreasonable jealousy, and fled down the Mississippi to Natchez, escaping having to return to Kentucky with him. When Jackson learned of Rachel's plans to flee he expressed extreme sorrow claiming he was "the most unhappy of men, in having innocently and unintentionally been the cause of the loss of peace and happiness of Mrs. Robards, whom he believed to be a fine woman." [1]

Jackson then announced his decision to accompany Rachel and the Starks family on their Mississippi river voyage. In his biography on Jackson, Remini comments that this is a strange move when he is accused of being the third party of this marital triangle. And also says his decision to accompany the Stark family is "either absolute folly or absolute calculation. His actions confirmed Robards' suspicions and gave Robards the evidence he needed to commence divorce proceedings." [2]

While in Natchez, Rachel learned her first husband was pursuing divorce from Andrew Jackson, who came from Nashville to deliver the news. Thinking that Robards had divorced Rachel, Jackson asked her hand in marriage. In 1791, they returned to Tennessee together as husband and wife.    >>>

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Early Hardships | Once Together | Unconquerable Relationship
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Footnotes:

1. Robert V. Remini, Andrew Jackson, Volume One, The Course of American Empire, 1767-1821 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998) p. 58.

2. Ibid., p. 59.