Andrew Jackson and the New Madrid Earthquakes Part 2

By early 1813 the United States was in the midst of a conflict with Great Britain called the War of 1812.  This conflict spanned from the oceans where American ships traded to the frontiers that were threatened by British inspired unrest among Native American tribes coupled with threats to invade and block American expansion westward.  Andrew Jackson was a General in the Tennessee militia and the militia formed the backbone of military strength on the American frontier of that time period.
Early in 1813 Tennessee troops were called upon to defend the country and were mobilized to move south and defend the Gulf Coast from possible invasion. Part of the army were to go overland to the south and officers and a detachment of men were to proceed by boat down the Mississippi river to New Orleans.  This movement of officers and men would bring Jackson through the  epicentral area of the New Madrid earthquakes and observe conditions there a year after the earthquakes occurred.
An anonymous staff officer kept a diary of the journey and observed conditions in the New Madrid area.

" The Terror and consternation produced by the late Earth quakes  on the Mississippi has nearly subsided.  Most of those who inhabited the margins of the River fled from their homes.  Some few of them have returned, but most of their habitations are deserted and sinking into decay..."

Jackson's expedition passed New Madrid in early February but it is unknown if they stopped and landed there to observe the condition of the town.  It is unknown what his reaction would have been to the destruction he saw there but it would be interesting to know what his reaction was to it.
Source:John Spencer Bassett, Correspondence of Andrew Jackson,(1926) Volume 1, Page 263.