When Jackson’s friend Patten Anderson got into trouble, which was often, Old Hickory always helped him out. On an afternoon in 1809, when Jackson was attending the races in Clover Bottom, Tennessee, Anderson got into a fight with a group of people at the end of a long table where dinner was being served. When someone remarked, “They’ll finish Patten Anderson this time, I do expect,” Jackson sprang to his feet, jumped atop the table, and started wading through the dishes to rescue his friend.
As he neared the other end of the table, where the fighting was going on, he suddenly opened his tobacco box and then shut it with a loud click [which sounded like the cocking of a pistol]. “I’m coming, Patten,” he roared.
At this, some of the spectators began yelling, “Don’t fire! Don’t fire!” The sound of the tobacco box and the yells of “Don’t fire” caught the ears of Anderson’s enemies, who scattered at once, leaving Jackson’s friend alone and unharmed.
Source:
Boller, Paul F. “Andrew Jackson.” Presidential Anecdotes. New York: Oxford UP, 1981. 74. Print.
Original Source Listed:
Parton, Jackson, I:341-42.
Further Reading:
That's pretty badass. I wish someone could do that today and still become president.